2,123,156 Shares in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) Purchased by Manning & Napier Advisors LLC

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 2,123,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,464,000. Evergy makes up approximately 1.3% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Evergy during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp raised its position in Evergy by 199.5% during the first quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Evergy by 222.2% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Evergy by 3,263.6% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Evergy by 105.5% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Evergy Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:EVRG traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $58.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,878,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,180,559. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $13.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $54.67 and a 200 day moving average of $52.80. Evergy, Inc. has a one year low of $46.92 and a one year high of $61.14.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.01. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 12.84%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.6425 per share. This represents a $2.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on EVRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Evergy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Barclays upped their target price on Evergy from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.83.

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.