Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) Rating Increased to Buy at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) was upgraded by equities research analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $68.50 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $59.00. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH’s target price points to a potential upside of 11.29% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Evergy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Evergy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on Evergy in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Evergy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.06.

Evergy Price Performance

Shares of EVRG opened at $61.55 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market cap of $14.16 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64. Evergy has a 12-month low of $48.04 and a 12-month high of $65.47. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.59.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue 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.

Insider Activity

In other Evergy 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1 shares in the company, valued at $62.93. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Evergy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EVRG. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Evergy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $229,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Evergy by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $726,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Evergy by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,675,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,895,000 after acquiring an additional 330,464 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Evergy by 7.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 278,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,251,000 after purchasing an additional 18,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Evergy by 16.0% in the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.