Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Position in Evergy Inc. $EVRG

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) by 4.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,058,061 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 251,027 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Evergy were worth $460,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Evergy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $257,000. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of Evergy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $223,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 19.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 19,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,340,000 after buying an additional 5,618 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Evergy by 7.3% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 13,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $951,000 after buying an additional 939 shares in the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Evergy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EVRG opened at $81.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.03. Evergy Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.94 and a 12 month high of $85.23.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Evergy Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $0.695 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $2.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Evergy from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Evergy from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Evergy from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Evergy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $91.00 price target on shares of Evergy in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Evergy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ann D. Murtlow sold 2,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.34, for a total value of $234,421.98. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,311 shares in the company, valued at $190,287.74. The trade was a 55.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Heather A. Humphrey sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.61, for a total transaction of $301,526.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 44,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,635,418.27. The trade was a 7.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

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.