Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $88.62 and last traded at $87.12, with a volume of 2346808 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $86.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Evergy in a report on Thursday, April 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $99.00 target price for the company. Bank of America decreased their target price on Evergy from $89.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on Evergy from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Evergy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Evergy from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Evergy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.10.

Evergy Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $83.63 and a 200-day moving average of $80.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.54.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. Evergy had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 9.09%. Evergy’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Evergy Inc. will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.695 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Evergy

In other news, Director Sandra Aj Lawrence sold 761 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.31, for a total value of $63,398.91. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $139,960.80. The trade was a 31.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles A. Caisley sold 10,787 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.46, for a total transaction of $900,283.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,789 shares in the company, valued at $3,153,869.94. This represents a 22.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 12,748 shares of company stock worth $1,061,870 over the last three months. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Evergy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MidFirst Bank acquired a new position in Evergy during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Evergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc purchased a new position in Evergy during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Triumph Capital Management increased its position in Evergy by 104.8% during the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 508 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Evergy by 163.2% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Company 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.