Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $85.23 and last traded at $84.41, with a volume of 2803732 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $84.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on EVRG shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Evergy from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Evergy from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Evergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Evergy in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Evergy from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Evergy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.88.

Evergy Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The company’s 50-day moving average is $77.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.65.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter. Evergy had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 8.79%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Evergy Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders 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 payout ratio is presently 75.75%.

Insider Transactions at Evergy

In other news, Director Ann D. Murtlow sold 2,847 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.34, for a total value of $234,421.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $190,287.74. This represents a 55.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Evergy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MidFirst Bank acquired a new position in Evergy during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Evergy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Evergy by 1,310.3% during the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new position in shares of Evergy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new stake in Evergy during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Evergy

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.