Evergy's (EVRG) Q4 Earnings Rise Y/Y, Sales Miss Estimates

Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) reported fourth-quarter 2019 operating earnings of 32 cents per share, improving a whopping 300% from the year-ago-quarter’s 8 cents. The upside in earnings was buoyed by positive impact of Evergy Metro and Evergy Missouri West results.

Earnings per share in 2019 were $2.89 per share, which was near the upper end of the guided range of $2.80-$3.00.

Total Revenues

Evergy’s total revenues came in at $1,131.6 million, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,197.1 million by 5.5%. The top line also dropped 5.7% from the year-ago-quarter’s $1,200 million.

Highlights of the Release

Total operating expenses in the fourth quarter were $965.8 million, down 8% from the year-ago quarter’s $1,049.7 million owing to lower fuel and purchased power, along with operating and maintenance costs.

Interest and related charges in the reported quarter were $96.7 million, up 9.5% from the year-ago level.

In 2019, Evergy repurchased 29 million shares. Since the inception of the repurchase program, the company has bought back 45 million shares, as part of its 60-million share repurchase authorization.

Financial Update

Cash and cash equivalents as of Dec 31, 2019 were $23.2 million compared with $160.3 million in the corresponding period of 2018.

Long-term debt as of Dec 31, 2019 was $8,746.7 million compared with $6,636.3 million in the comparable period of 2018.

Cash from operating activities in 2019 was $1,749 million compared with $1,497.8 million in 2018.

Guidance

Evergy is increasing its five-year investment plan to $7.6 billion through 2024 versus the prior $6.1-billion five-year plan ending 2023.

Zacks Rank

Currently, Evergy has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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