Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Purchases New Stake in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 944,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,044,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.41% of Evergy at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in Evergy by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 7,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in Evergy by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 90,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,699,000 after purchasing an additional 17,788 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in Evergy by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Evergy by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,413,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,771,000 after buying an additional 46,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Evergy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $982,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Stock Performance

NYSE EVRG traded down $0.66 on Friday, hitting $59.76. 1,016,702 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,128,752. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.59. The business’s fifty day moving average is $57.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.12. Evergy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.92 and a 12 month high of $61.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.62.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.01. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 13.12%. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be given a $0.6425 dividend. This represents a $2.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 20th. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.17%.

Insider Activity at Evergy

In other news, Director Ann D. Murtlow sold 3,301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.85, for a total value of $194,263.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,545.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Ann D. Murtlow sold 3,301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.85, for a total transaction of $194,263.85. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,847 shares in the company, valued at $167,545.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Charles A. Caisley sold 9,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.63, for a total transaction of $550,742.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 33,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,993,132.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,884 shares of company stock worth $941,810. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on EVRG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Evergy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Barclays raised their target price on Evergy from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Evergy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.33.

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.