RNC Capital Management LLC Buys 46,437 Shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)

RNC Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 586,133 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 46,437 shares during the period. Evergy accounts for about 1.8% of RNC Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. RNC Capital Management LLC owned 0.26% of Evergy worth $30,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EVRG. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $969,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 5,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 1,214 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in Evergy by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 12,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $863,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Evergy by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 322,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,058,000 after purchasing an additional 71,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Evergy by 1,332.5% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 374,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,563,000 after purchasing an additional 347,949 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on EVRG shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Evergy from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Guggenheim cut shares of Evergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Evergy from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Evergy in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.00.

Evergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EVRG opened at $53.05 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.50 and a 200-day moving average of $50.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.44, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Evergy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.92 and a 12 month high of $63.93.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Evergy had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 8.47%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.6425 per share. This represents a $2.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.82%.

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.