Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Evergy Inc. $EVRG

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) by 99.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,172 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,415,000 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Evergy were worth $165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Evergy during the 4th quarter worth $257,000. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of Evergy in the first quarter valued at about $223,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Evergy by 19.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Evergy by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 19,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,340,000 after buying an additional 5,618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in Evergy by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 13,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $951,000 after acquiring an additional 939 shares during the period. 87.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ann D. Murtlow sold 2,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.34, for a total value of $234,421.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,311 shares in the company, valued at $190,287.74. This trade represents a 55.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Evergy Stock Down 0.1%

EVRG opened at $84.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Evergy Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.94 and a 12 month high of $85.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.67.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Evergy Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.695 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $2.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is 75.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on EVRG shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on Evergy from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group lowered Evergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $86.00 to $88.00 in a report on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho set a $82.00 price target on Evergy in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Evergy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Evergy in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.88.

Evergy Company Profile

Evergy, Inc is a regulated electric utility that generates, transmits and distributes electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers primarily across Kansas and western Missouri. The company provides core utility services including retail electric delivery, grid operations, customer service and outage restoration, operating under state regulatory frameworks. Evergy serves a mix of urban and rural communities, including portions of the Kansas City metropolitan area and other population centers in its service territory.

The company’s business activities span power generation, system planning, transmission and distribution infrastructure, and customer-facing programs such as energy efficiency and demand-side management.