Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $69.93 and last traded at $67.70, with a volume of 2540597 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on EVRG. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $68.50 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Evergy from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.36.

Evergy Trading Down 2.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $15.57 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.32.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. Evergy had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 8.77%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.6675 dividend. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Evergy’s payout ratio is 70.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Evergy during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. National Pension Service bought a new stake in Evergy during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Evergy in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Evergy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new position in Evergy during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 87.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.