CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. Makes New Investment in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)

CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. acquired a new stake in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 21,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,121,000. Evergy comprises approximately 2.3% of CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Conning Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 34,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Evergy during the fourth quarter worth about $726,000. MV Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Evergy by 3,263.6% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its stake in Evergy by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 9,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Evergy by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 108,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,671,000 after buying an additional 15,142 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Stock Performance

EVRG traded down $0.46 on Monday, reaching $50.49. The stock had a trading volume of 870,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,619,560. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $51.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.87. The company has a market cap of $11.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.57. Evergy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.92 and a 12-month high of $63.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.47% and a net margin of 13.28%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $0.6425 dividend. This represents a $2.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. Evergy’s payout ratio is currently 80.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on EVRG. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Evergy from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 1st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $51.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Evergy from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Guggenheim downgraded Evergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $52.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Evergy in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Evergy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.00.

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.