Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) Shares Bought by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 214,411 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,093 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.09% of Evergy worth $11,192,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EVRG. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Evergy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Evergy during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Evergy by 3,263.6% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in Evergy during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new position in Evergy during the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. 87.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Evergy Stock Performance

EVRG traded up $0.19 on Tuesday, hitting $52.45. 580,834 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,546,695. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.05 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.19 and a 200-day moving average of $50.94. Evergy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.92 and a 12-month high of $63.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.47% and a net margin of 13.28%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.6425 per share. This represents a $2.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EVRG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on Evergy in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price objective on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on Evergy in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Evergy from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Guggenheim downgraded Evergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $52.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $57.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.00.

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.