Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $69.58 and last traded at $69.05, with a volume of 3112864 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $68.50 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Evergy from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Guggenheim raised Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.36.

Evergy Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $15.85 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $63.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.24 billion. Evergy had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 8.77%. Research analysts forecast that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. Evergy’s payout ratio is 70.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Evergy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EVRG. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in Evergy by 3.6% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 14,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $868,000 after buying an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Evergy during the third quarter worth approximately $1,330,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Evergy by 40.9% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 17,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,055,000 after buying an additional 4,946 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Evergy by 24.7% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 24,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,542,000 after buying an additional 4,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in Evergy by 1.2% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 18,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,138,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

About Evergy

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.