Reasons to add Evergy (EVRG) to your portfolio now
Evergy, Inc.EVRG’s strategic investments to expand operations, strengthen infrastructure and improve reliability are likely to drive performance. Given its growth opportunities, EVRG is a solid investment option in the utility sector.
The company currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Let’s look at the factors driving the stock.
Growth forecasts
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share (EPS) in 2024 is $3.84, representing year-over-year growth of 8.5%.
The consensus estimate for earnings per share (EPS) for 2025 has increased by 0.2% to $4.04 over the past 30 days.
EVRG’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 5%.
Dividend yield
Evergy regularly pays dividends to its shareholders. The current dividend yield is 4.39%, which is better than the industry average of 3.49%. The company aims to pay out a dividend of 60-70% per year.
Debt level
Evergy’s total debt to capital ratio is currently 56.34%, compared to the industry average of 60.93%.
The interest income ratio at the end of the second quarter was 2.4. This ratio is greater than one and reflects the company’s ability to easily meet future interest obligations.
Systemic investments
Evergy’s long-term capital expenditure plans focus on improving transmission and distribution infrastructure and customer-facing platforms to improve reliability. The company plans to invest nearly $12.5 billion in capital investments through 2028.
The company’s planned capital expenditure is in line with its new integrated resource plan, which aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2045, with an interim target of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 70% by 2030.
Price-performance
EVRG shares have gained 6.3 percent over the past three months, while the industry has fallen 0.7 percent.
Image source: Zacks Investment Research
Other stocks to consider
Other highly valued stocks in the industry are TransAlta Corporation TAC, The AES Corporation AES and NiSource Inc. NI. Each of these stocks currently has a Zacks Rank of 2. You can see the complete list of Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here.
TransAlta Corporation delivered an average earnings surprise of 98% over the past four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings has moved 4.2% higher over the past 30 days.
AES Corporation delivered an average earnings surprise of 19.2% over the last four quarters. The consensus estimate for 2024 earnings is for year-over-year growth of 8.5%.
NiSource delivered an average earnings surprise of 20.6% over the last four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 7.5%.
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NiSource, Inc (NI): Free Stock Analysis Report
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Evergy Inc. (EVRG): Free Stock Analysis Report
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