Magellan Asset Management Ltd Reduces Position in Evergy Inc. $EVRG

Magellan Asset Management Ltd trimmed its stake in Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) by 6.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,242,868 shares of the company’s stock after selling 166,442 shares during the quarter. Evergy comprises approximately 2.4% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Evergy were worth $183,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Evergy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,073,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its stake in Evergy by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 316,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,944,000 after acquiring an additional 14,907 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc grew its stake in Evergy by 49.6% in the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 174,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,637,000 after acquiring an additional 57,795 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Evergy by 295.4% in the 4th quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 105,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,668,000 after acquiring an additional 79,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in Evergy by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 768,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,675,000 after acquiring an additional 67,850 shares during the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Evergy

In other news, Director Sandra Aj Lawrence sold 600 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.41, for a total transaction of $48,846.00. Following the sale, the director owned 680 shares in the company, valued at $55,358.80. This trade represents a 46.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles A. Caisley sold 10,787 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.46, for a total transaction of $900,283.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,789 shares in the company, valued at $3,153,869.94. This represents a 22.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 12,748 shares of company stock valued at $1,061,870 in the last ninety days. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Evergy Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ EVRG opened at $84.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $84.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Evergy Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.00 and a 12-month high of $88.62. The company has a market cap of $19.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.54.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.06. Evergy had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 14.63%.The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Evergy Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a $0.695 dividend. This represents a $2.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Evergy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Evergy from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. BTIG Research started coverage on Evergy in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $99.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $87.00 target price on Evergy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Evergy from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.10.

Evergy Profile

Evergy, Inc is a regulated electric utility that generates, transmits and distributes electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers primarily across Kansas and western Missouri. The company provides core utility services including retail electric delivery, grid operations, customer service and outage restoration, operating under state regulatory frameworks. Evergy serves a mix of urban and rural communities, including portions of the Kansas City metropolitan area and other population centers in its service territory.

The company’s business activities span power generation, system planning, transmission and distribution infrastructure, and customer-facing programs such as energy efficiency and demand-side management.