Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) Shares Acquired by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) by 53.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,703 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,746 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Evergy were worth $843,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Evergy during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. National Pension Service acquired a new position in Evergy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in Evergy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sandy Spring Bank grew its position in Evergy by 5,983.3% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 730 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Evergy during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of EVRG opened at $67.43 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.85. Evergy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.70 and a 1 year high of $70.30.

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

Evergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EVRG. UBS Group increased their price target on Evergy from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Evergy from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Evergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $69.08.

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.