Viking Fund Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Evergy Inc. $EVRG

Key Points

• Viking Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Evergy Inc. by 25%, purchasing an additional 20,000 shares, bringing its total holdings to 100,000 shares valued at approximately $6.89 million.
• Evergy reported $0.82 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, despite a 0.7% decline in year-over-year revenue.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6675 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.7%, with a dividend payout ratio of 73.35%.

Viking Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 100,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC's holdings in Evergy were worth $6,893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its holdings in shares of Evergy by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 18,638 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,285,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Evergy by 2.3% in the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,438 shares of the company's stock valued at $995,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Evergy during the second quarter worth $2,712,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Evergy by 5.3% during the second quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 48,834 shares of the company's stock worth $3,366,000 after buying an additional 2,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Evergy by 11.1% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 40,274 shares of the company's stock worth $2,826,000 after purchasing an additional 4,011 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.24% of the company's stock.

Evergy Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of EVRG traded up $1.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $72.29. The stock had a trading volume of 2,782,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,868,421. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $16.64 billion, a PE ratio of 19.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.58. The stock's 50 day moving average is $71.22 and its 200 day moving average is $68.67. Evergy Inc. has a 1 year low of $59.00 and a 1 year high of $73.97.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.04. Evergy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.45 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. Evergy's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Evergy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.920-4.120 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Evergy Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a $0.6675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Evergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.35%.

Insider Transactions at Evergy

In related news, SVP Lesley Lissette Elwell sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.33, for a total transaction of $578,640.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 499 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,092.67. The trade was a 94.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EVRG has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Evergy from $73.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $78.00 price target on shares of Evergy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Evergy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eight have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Evergy presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $74.44.

Evergy Company Profile

Evergy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in the United States. The company generates electricity through coal, landfill gas, uranium, and natural gas and oil sources, as well as solar, wind, other renewable sources. It serves residences, commercial firms, industrials, municipalities, and other electric utilities.