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Evergy (EVRG) Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Up Y/Y

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Evergy, Inc. (EVRG - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2021 operating earnings of 55 cents per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 47 cents by 17%. The reported earnings were up 34.1% year over year due to favorable power marketing margin during the February winter weather.

GAAP earnings for the reported quarter were 84 cents compared with 31 cents per share in the year-ago period.

Total Revenues

Evergy’s total revenues came in at $1,611.9 million, reflecting an increase of 44.3% from the year-ago-quarter’s $1,116.7 million.

Evergy Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Evergy Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Evergy Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Evergy Inc. Quote

Highlights of the Release

Total operating expenses were $1,294.2 million, up 40.8% from the year-ago quarter’s $919.2 million owing to increase in fuel and purchased power expenses, marginally offset by a decline in operating and maintenance costs.

Interest expenses for the reported quarter were $94 million, down 2.3% from the year-ago level.

Through the Integrated Resource Plan, the company aims to add 4,200 MW of renewable assets to the generation portfolio and retire more than 2,000 MW of fossil fuel-based generation by 2032. It aims for net-zero carbon emission by 2045.

The company’s customer volume increased 1% year over year, marking the 40th consecutive quarter of customer growth.

Financial Update

Cash and cash equivalents as of Mar 31, 2021 were $482 million compared with $144.9 million on Dec 31, 2020.

Long-term debt as of Mar 31, 2021 was $9,090.6 million compared with $9,190.9 million on Dec 31, 2020.

Cash (used in) from operating activities for the first quarter of 2021 was ($28.6) million against $320.6 million in first-quarter 2020.

Guidance

Evergy reiterated its 2021 operating earnings per share guidance in the range of $3.20-$3.40, and long-term adjusted EPS annual growth target of 6-8% from 2019 through 2024.

Evergy has updated the five-year (2021-2025) capital plan to $9.4 billion, up from the previous expectation of $8.9 billion for the 2020-2024 time frame. The expenditures will be directed toward utility projects, with an objective of modernizing the grid, focusing on clean energy sources, and increasing efficiency as well as reliability of operations.

Zacks Rank

Currently, Evergy has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Recent Releases

The Southern Company (SO - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2021 earnings per share of 98 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 85 cents by 15.3%.

WEC Energy Group (WEC - Free Report) came up with first-quarter 2021 earnings per share of $1.61, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.47 by 9.5%.

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings of 67 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 60 cents by 11.7%.

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