HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Has $18.95 Million Stock Holdings in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) by 21.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 305,528 shares of the company’s stock after selling 83,887 shares during the quarter. Evergy comprises 2.2% of HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Evergy were worth $18,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Evergy by 391.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 97,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,030,000 after acquiring an additional 77,398 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Evergy during the third quarter valued at approximately $362,000. Centiva Capital LP boosted its holdings in Evergy by 10.9% in the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 25,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,596,000 after acquiring an additional 2,533 shares in the last quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Evergy by 12.9% in the third quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 237,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,696,000 after purchasing an additional 27,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in Evergy by 9,427.9% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 81,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,057,000 after acquiring an additional 80,703 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EVRG opened at $63.61 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.04 and a 12-month high of $65.47. The company’s fifty day moving average is $61.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.29. The company has a market cap of $14.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.64.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The business 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%. Evergy’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This is a positive change from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.16%.

Insider Transactions at Evergy

In other Evergy news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1 shares in the company, valued at $62.93. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EVRG. UBS Group raised Evergy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays reduced their price target on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho began coverage on Evergy in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Evergy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Evergy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.