Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) Short Interest Up 15.8% in November

Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 8,290,000 shares, an increase of 15.8% from the November 15th total of 7,160,000 shares. Approximately 3.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,810,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days.

Insider Activity at Evergy

In other Evergy news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Evergy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 6,854.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,539,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,443,000 after acquiring an additional 2,502,493 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 7,234.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,300,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,613,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,275 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 131.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,004,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,294,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138,138 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 38.6% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,683,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Evergy in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,044,000. Institutional investors own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EVRG traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $61.44. 952,679 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,042,182. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business’s fifty day moving average is $62.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.83. Evergy has a one year low of $48.04 and a one year high of $65.47. The stock has a market cap of $14.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Evergy had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 8.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. Evergy’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Evergy will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.6675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. This is a positive change from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Evergy in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group raised shares of Evergy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Evergy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Evergy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.88.

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.