Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 11,234 Shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) by 14.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,415 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,234 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Evergy were worth $4,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. acquired a new stake in Evergy in the fourth quarter worth $1,121,000. OLD Republic International Corp grew its holdings in Evergy by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. OLD Republic International Corp now owns 830,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,339,000 after purchasing an additional 200,000 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Evergy by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 586,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,596,000 after purchasing an additional 46,437 shares during the period. APG Asset Management US Inc. acquired a new stake in Evergy in the fourth quarter worth $2,057,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Evergy by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,757,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,605,537,000 after purchasing an additional 1,399,199 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Stock Up 0.7 %

Evergy stock traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $52.83. 982,161 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,268,139. Evergy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.92 and a 52-week high of $61.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $53.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 12.84%. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a $0.6425 dividend. This represents a $2.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is 83.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of Evergy in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Bank of America upgraded shares of Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $57.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Evergy in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Evergy from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Evergy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.83.

Evergy 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.