Short Interest in Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) Grows By 9.3%

Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,060,000 shares, an increase of 9.3% from the November 30th total of 8,290,000 shares. Approximately 4.0% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,880,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.8 days.

Insider Activity

In other Evergy news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total transaction of $3,029,513.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1 shares in the company, valued at $62.93. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Evergy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EVRG. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Evergy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Evergy during the third quarter worth $32,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 47.1% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 531 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Evergy in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Evergy in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.24% of the company's stock.

Evergy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EVRG traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $61.55. 1,669,783 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,043,055. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64. Evergy has a 1 year low of $48.04 and a 1 year high of $65.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. Evergy had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 8.77%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Evergy will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.6675 dividend. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.34%. This is a boost from Evergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Evergy's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on EVRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho assumed coverage on Evergy in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upgraded Evergy to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Evergy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.88.

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.