Mizuho Securities USA LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG - Free Report) by 7,234.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,300,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,282,275 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC owned approximately 0.57% of Evergy worth $80,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EVRG. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in Evergy during the second quarter worth $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Evergy by 47.1% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 531 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Evergy in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Evergy during the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 47.8% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 856 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Evergy news, SVP Heather A. Humphrey sold 3,347 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.80, for a total transaction of $196,803.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 35,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,076,463.20. This represents a 8.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 1 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $62.93. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,724 shares of company stock worth $3,777,059 in the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Evergy Stock Performance

Evergy stock traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $63.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,930,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,071,057. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.62. Evergy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.04 and a 12 month high of $64.07. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $61.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.49.

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 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 firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. This is a positive change from Evergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Evergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.46%.

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.