Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Has $138.31 Million Stake in Evergy Inc. $EVRG

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. reduced its stake in shares of Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,819,402 shares of the company’s stock after selling 125,671 shares during the quarter. Evergy comprises about 1.6% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Evergy were worth $138,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EVRG. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Evergy by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 150,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,416,000 after buying an additional 11,279 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Evergy by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,058,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $460,534,000 after buying an additional 251,027 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Evergy in the 3rd quarter valued at $124,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Evergy by 0.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 124,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,453,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Evergy by 9.9% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 698,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,129,000 after acquiring an additional 62,996 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of Evergy stock opened at $81.02 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.03. The stock has a market cap of $18.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. Evergy Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.94 and a 12 month high of $85.23.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last released its earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. Research analysts predict that Evergy Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.695 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $2.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.75%.

Insider Activity at Evergy

In other Evergy news, Director Ann D. Murtlow sold 2,847 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.34, for a total value of $234,421.98. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $190,287.74. This trade represents a 55.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Heather A. Humphrey sold 3,650 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.61, for a total transaction of $301,526.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 44,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,635,418.27. This represents a 7.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Evergy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Evergy from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Evergy in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Evergy from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Evergy from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.75.

Evergy Profile

Evergy, Inc is a regulated electric utility that generates, transmits and distributes electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers primarily across Kansas and western Missouri. The company provides core utility services including retail electric delivery, grid operations, customer service and outage restoration, operating under state regulatory frameworks. Evergy serves a mix of urban and rural communities, including portions of the Kansas City metropolitan area and other population centers in its service territory.

The company’s business activities span power generation, system planning, transmission and distribution infrastructure, and customer-facing programs such as energy efficiency and demand-side management.