Westar Energy, Inc. (WR) Stake Held by CENTRAL TRUST Co

CENTRAL TRUST Co continued to hold its stake in Westar Energy, Inc. (NYSE:WR) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock at the end of the second quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Westar Energy were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its stake in Westar Energy by 508.5% in the second quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 23,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after buying an additional 19,272 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Westar Energy by 1,922.8% in the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 84,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,461,000 after buying an additional 79,970 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of Westar Energy by 1.3% in the second quarter. Capstone Asset Management Co. now owns 12,252 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank increased its position in shares of Westar Energy by 0.5% in the second quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 38,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,017,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Westar Energy by 9.8% in the first quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 19,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after buying an additional 1,716 shares during the last quarter. 71.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shares of Westar Energy, Inc. (WR) opened at 51.30 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $51.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.15. Westar Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.21 and a 52-week high of $57.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46 and a beta of 0.39.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WR shares. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Westar Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 8th. J P Morgan Chase & Co upgraded Westar Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded Westar Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. BidaskClub downgraded Westar Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Westar Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.33.

About Westar Energy

Westar Energy, Inc is an electric utility. The Company provides electric generation, transmission and distribution services. The Company provides these services in central and northeastern Kansas, including the cities of Topeka, Lawrence, Manhattan, Salina and Hutchinson. Its subsidiary, Kansas Gas and Electric Company (KGE), provides these services in south-central and southeastern Kansas, including the city of Wichita.