Financial Counselors Inc. Buys 2,901 Shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)

Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 73,899 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,901 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Evergy were worth $4,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EVRG. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Evergy in the first quarter valued at $290,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Evergy by 66.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 51,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,751,000 after purchasing an additional 20,538 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in Evergy by 60.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 15,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $829,000 after purchasing an additional 5,844 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in Evergy by 8.3% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 6,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Evergy by 69.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 3,525 shares in the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Evergy

In other Evergy news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Charles A. Caisley sold 9,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.63, for a total value of $550,742.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,993,132.75. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Evergy Price Performance

EVRG stock opened at $65.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $61.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.09. Evergy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.04 and a 52-week high of $65.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.62.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Evergy had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 8.77%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. Evergy’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend 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 payout ratio is presently 72.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EVRG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho initiated coverage on Evergy in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Evergy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised Evergy to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.88.

Evergy 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.