Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) by 7.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 54,859 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,836 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Evergy were worth $3,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EVRG. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Evergy by 6,854.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,539,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,443,000 after purchasing an additional 2,502,493 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in Evergy by 7,234.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,300,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,613,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,275 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 131.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,004,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,294,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138,138 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Evergy by 38.6% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,683,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,374 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Evergy during the second quarter valued at approximately $50,044,000. 87.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Evergy Stock Performance

EVRG opened at $62.36 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $14.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64. Evergy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.04 and a 1-year high of $65.47.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. Evergy had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 8.77%. Evergy’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Evergy in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays cut their price target on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group raised shares of Evergy to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Evergy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.88.

Insider Activity at Evergy

In other Evergy news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total value of $3,029,513.13. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62.93. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.