ING Groep NV Raises Stock Position in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)

ING Groep NV increased its position in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG - Free Report) by 271.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 345,355 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 252,415 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV owned about 0.15% of Evergy worth $21,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in Evergy by 6,854.6% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,539,001 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,443,000 after purchasing an additional 2,502,493 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Evergy in the second quarter valued at approximately $112,464,000. Zimmer Partners LP raised its position in Evergy by 781.4% in the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,326,385 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,062,434 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Evergy by 38.6% in the second 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. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Evergy in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,044,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EVRG. UBS Group raised Evergy to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group began 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho began coverage on Evergy in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Evergy

In other news, SVP Charles A. Caisley sold 9,236 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 33,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,993,132.75. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Heather A. Humphrey sold 3,347 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.80, for a total transaction of $196,803.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 35,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,076,463.20. This trade represents a 8.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,724 shares of company stock worth $3,777,059 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Evergy Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:EVRG traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $63.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,917,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,071,057. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $61.14 and a 200-day moving average of $57.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Evergy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.04 and a 52-week high of $64.07.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 14.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. Evergy's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.6675 dividend. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Evergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Evergy's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.46%.

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.