Sound Income Strategies LLC Raises Stake in Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)

Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) by 5,709.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 216,004 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 212,286 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Evergy worth $13,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Evergy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Evergy in the third quarter valued at about $51,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Evergy during the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Evergy by 230.0% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Evergy

In related news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62.93. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Evergy in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays cut 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. Guggenheim upgraded Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $68.50 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.79.

Evergy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EVRG opened at $63.06 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.46. 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 capitalization of $14.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64. Evergy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.04 and a 52 week high of $65.47.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. Evergy’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.6675 dividend. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.23%. This is an increase from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.16%.

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.