Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 316,197 Shares of Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) by 43.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,041,564 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 316,197 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.45% of Evergy worth $64,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Evergy by 5.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,532,719 shares of the company's stock valued at $330,469,000 after acquiring an additional 288,619 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Evergy by 38.6% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,683,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $195,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,374 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Evergy by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,848,735 shares of the company's stock valued at $176,650,000 after purchasing an additional 583,923 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Evergy by 6,854.6% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,539,001 shares of the company's stock worth $157,443,000 after buying an additional 2,502,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Evergy by 42.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,135,011 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,392,000 after buying an additional 634,735 shares in the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EVRG shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised 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 research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Evergy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho started coverage on Evergy in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Evergy

In other news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total transaction of $3,029,513.13. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1 shares of the company's stock, valued at $62.93. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Evergy Stock Performance

Shares of Evergy stock traded up $1.25 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $62.93. 1,606,053 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,651,055. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.64. Evergy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.04 and a 12-month high of $65.47. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $62.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.07.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. Evergy had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 8.77%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.6675 dividend. This is an increase from Evergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.24%. Evergy's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.16%.

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.