Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) Stake Cut by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) by 28.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 55,231 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,646 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Evergy were worth $3,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EVRG. Apexium Financial LP acquired a new position in Evergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $533,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Evergy by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,480 shares of the company's stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC lifted its position in Evergy by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 4,297 shares of the company's stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Advocate Group LLC lifted its position in Evergy by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 132,568 shares of the company's stock worth $8,160,000 after acquiring an additional 12,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Evergy by 71.3% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,678 shares of the company's stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.24% of the company's stock.

Evergy Stock Performance

EVRG traded up $0.70 during trading on Monday, reaching $64.87. 1,774,576 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,825,145. The stock has a market cap of $14.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.53, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.40 and a 200 day moving average of $60.95. 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 $65.47.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last released 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. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 14.77%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.6675 dividend. This is a boost from Evergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.12%. Evergy's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on EVRG shares. Guggenheim raised Evergy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho began coverage on Evergy in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays cut their target price on Evergy from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Evergy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $59.00 to $68.50 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.36.

Insider Transactions 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 value of $3,029,513.13. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1 shares in the company, valued at $62.93. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

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.