QRG Capital Management Inc. Buys 197,371 Shares of Evergy Inc. $EVRG

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) by 159.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 321,320 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 197,371 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Evergy were worth $22,149,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Evergy by 14.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 140,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,710,000 after purchasing an additional 17,477 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 16.7% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,737,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,749,000 after purchasing an additional 392,361 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Evergy during the 1st quarter valued at about $267,000. Integrity Alliance LLC. bought a new position in shares of Evergy during the 1st quarter valued at $319,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Evergy by 26.6% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 124,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,558,000 after acquiring an additional 26,086 shares during the period. 87.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Evergy Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of EVRG opened at $76.62 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $72.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.57. Evergy Inc. has a 12-month low of $59.00 and a 12-month high of $77.46.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. Evergy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The firm’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. Evergy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.920-4.120 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Evergy Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a $0.6675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is 73.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Evergy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Evergy in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $78.00 target price on Evergy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and nine have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Evergy presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Evergy news, SVP Lesley Lissette Elwell sold 8,000 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.33, for a total transaction of $578,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,092.67. The trade was a 94.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Evergy Company 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.