Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,920,048 shares of the company’s stock after selling 121,560 shares during the period. Evergy makes up 1.3% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.83% of Evergy worth $118,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Evergy by 2.2% in 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 stake in Evergy by 47.1% during 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. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in Evergy by 2.3% during 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 during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its position in Evergy by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 7,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in shares of Evergy by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 18,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. 87.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Evergy Stock Performance

EVRG traded up $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $63.29. 64,028 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,668,020. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64. Evergy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.04 and a 1-year high of $65.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $62.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.76. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 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 firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a $0.6675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.22%. This is an increase from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Evergy

In related news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62.93. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Evergy 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.