Saudi Central Bank Grows Stock Position in Evergy Inc. $EVRG

Saudi Central Bank lifted its position in Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) by 89.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,120 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,623 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in Evergy were worth $1,393,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Magellan Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Evergy during the 2nd quarter worth $187,857,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Evergy in the second quarter valued at about $138,233,000. Energy Income Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Evergy in the second quarter worth about $110,394,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Evergy by 476.6% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,207,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,559,000 after buying an additional 998,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP boosted its position in Evergy by 321.1% during the fourth quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP now owns 854,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,960,000 after acquiring an additional 651,738 shares during the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Evergy Trading Up 0.9%

EVRG opened at $82.24 on Wednesday. Evergy Inc. has a 52 week low of $70.42 and a 52 week high of $88.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.04. The firm has a market cap of $18.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.53.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. Evergy had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 9.20%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Evergy Inc. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a $0.695 dividend. This represents a $2.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.56%.

Insider Activity at Evergy

In other news, EVP Charles Caisley sold 10,787 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.46, for a total transaction of $900,283.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,153,869.94. This represents a 22.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Evergy from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Evergy in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup upped 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Evergy from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research set a $97.00 price target on shares of Evergy in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.60.

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.