Empower Advisory Group LLC Buys 42,829 Shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)

Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG - Free Report) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,147,525 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 42,829 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned approximately 0.50% of Evergy worth $71,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Evergy by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,046,328 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,657,253,000 after buying an additional 288,913 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Evergy by 38.6% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,683,000 shares of the company's stock worth $195,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,374 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Evergy by 18.8% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,490,674 shares of the company's stock worth $184,901,000 after acquiring an additional 552,455 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,686,541 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,787,000 after buying an additional 134,236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 6,854.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,539,001 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,443,000 after buying an additional 2,502,493 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group raised Evergy to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Evergy in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Evergy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.88.

Evergy Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Evergy stock traded down $0.74 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $62.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 879,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,065,410. Evergy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.04 and a 12 month high of $64.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $60.94 and a 200 day moving average of $57.33. The company has a market capitalization of $14.47 billion, a PE ratio of 17.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 14.77%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.6675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Evergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.24%. Evergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Charles A. Caisley sold 9,236 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 33,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,993,132.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Charles A. Caisley sold 9,236 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 33,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,993,132.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Heather A. Humphrey sold 3,347 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.80, for a total value of $196,803.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 35,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,076,463.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.