Meritage Portfolio Management Raises Stock Position in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)

Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its position in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) by 99.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 90,844 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,232 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Evergy were worth $4,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EVRG. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Evergy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Evergy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 3,263.6% in the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Evergy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 105.5% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 785 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EVRG shares. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Evergy in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price objective for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Evergy in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Evergy from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Evergy from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of Evergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $52.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Evergy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Evergy Trading Down 0.1 %

Evergy stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $52.42. 1,651,565 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,547,552. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $51.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.57. Evergy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.92 and a 52-week high of $63.65.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. Evergy had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 8.47%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.82%.

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.