Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) Stock Has Average Target Price of $90.60 According to Brokerages

Shares of Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $89.70.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Evergy from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Evergy in a report on Friday. Barclays lifted their target price on Evergy from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. BTIG Research set a $97.00 target price on Evergy in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Evergy from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th.

Evergy Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of EVRG stock opened at $82.13 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.67. Evergy has a 52 week low of $71.40 and a 52 week high of $88.62. The stock has a market cap of $18.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.07. Evergy had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The business had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. Analysts predict that Evergy will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.6950 per share. This represents a $2.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 18th. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jonathan Rolph bought 1,640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $81.47 per share, for a total transaction of $133,610.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 670 shares in the company, valued at $54,584.90. This trade represents a -169.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Evergy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Evergy by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,091,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $441,574,000 after acquiring an additional 33,457 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Evergy during the 2nd quarter valued at $187,857,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Evergy in the 2nd quarter valued at $138,233,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Evergy by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,373,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,497,000 after purchasing an additional 25,881 shares during the period. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC bought a new stake in Evergy in the 2nd quarter valued at $110,394,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Company Profile

Evergy, Inc is an investor-owned electric utility holding company that provides electricity generation, transmission, distribution and related services. Through its operating utilities, the company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers in Kansas and Missouri.

Evergy’s generation portfolio includes nuclear, natural gas, coal, wind and solar resources. The company also operates and maintains electric transmission and distribution infrastructure and has invested in renewable energy and grid modernization initiatives to support reliability and the transition to lower-emission energy sources.

Evergy was formed in 2018 through the merger of Great Plains Energy Incorporated and Westar Energy, Inc Its principal operating utilities include Evergy Kansas Central, Evergy Kansas South, Evergy Missouri Metro and Evergy Missouri West.