Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $65.60 and last traded at $65.52, with a volume of 2284856 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $64.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on EVRG. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Evergy in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Evergy from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $68.50 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.36.

Evergy Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $62.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.21. The stock has a market cap of $15.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. Evergy had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 8.77%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Evergy news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were 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 directly owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62.93. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Evergy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EVRG. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its position in shares of Evergy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 11,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $723,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Evergy by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Evergy by 2.2% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $482,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Evergy by 47.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 531 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Evergy by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.