Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) Shares Acquired by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 997,832 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 224,679 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.43% of Evergy worth $61,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EVRG. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Evergy in the second quarter worth about $112,464,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in Evergy by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 260,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,790,000 after acquiring an additional 19,193 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Evergy by 66.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 51,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,751,000 after acquiring an additional 20,538 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Evergy by 13.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 307,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,304,000 after acquiring an additional 35,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in shares of Evergy by 60.6% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 44,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,332,000 after purchasing an additional 16,619 shares during the period. 87.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Evergy news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total value of $3,029,513.13. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62.93. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Charles A. Caisley sold 9,236 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.63, for a total value of $550,742.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,993,132.75. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Stock Performance

EVRG stock opened at $65.00 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.04. Evergy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.04 and a 12-month high of $65.47. The firm has a market cap of $14.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. Evergy had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 8.77%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. This is a boost from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EVRG. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Evergy in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Evergy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upgraded Evergy to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.88.

About Evergy

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.