Optas LLC Buys Shares of 3,246 Evergy Inc. $EVRG

Optas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Evergy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $257,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Evergy by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Evergy by 124.3% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Evergy by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 45,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,158,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Evergy by 32.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 2,412 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Price Performance

NASDAQ EVRG opened at $77.47 on Friday. Evergy Inc. has a 12 month low of $59.12 and a 12 month high of $78.56. The stock has a market cap of $17.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50 day moving average is $73.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.04. Evergy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Evergy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.920-4.120 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Evergy Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.35%.

Insider Transactions at Evergy

In other Evergy news, SVP Lesley Lissette Elwell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.33, for a total transaction of $578,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,092.67. This trade represents a 94.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on EVRG shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Evergy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Evergy from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Evergy in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Evergy in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and nine have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.94.

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.