Evergy to Benefit From Investments & Renewable Expansion

Core Viewpoint - Evergy, Inc. is focusing on strategic investments and acquisitions to enhance its operations in the transmission market while aiming to increase renewable assets for improved performance [1] Group 1: Investment Plans - Evergy plans to invest approximately $16.2 billion in capital expenditures from 2025 to 2029, aligning with its Integrated Resource Plan [2] - The company aims for net-zero emissions by 2045, with a target to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 70% by 2030 [2] Group 2: Emission Reduction Strategy - The company intends to lower emissions by decommissioning fossil-fuel-based plants and introducing new efficient clean power generation units [3] - Advanced technology in renewable energy production is expected to reduce operating costs and enhance profit margins [3] Group 3: New Projects - In October 2024, Evergy announced plans to build two combined-cycle natural gas plants in Kansas, each with an initial capacity of nearly 705 megawatts (MW) [4] - The first plant is projected to commence operations by summer 2029, while the second is expected to start by summer 2030 [4] Group 4: Performance Metrics - Over the past six months, Evergy's shares have increased by 15.8%, outperforming the industry growth of 6.8% [6] - Since June 27, 2024, Evergy's price performance has shown a growth of 15.8% compared to the Utility-Electric Power Market's growth of 6.8% [7] Group 5: Industry Comparisons - Other notable stocks in the industry include Vistra (VST) with a Zacks Rank 1 (Strong Buy), and IDACORP (IDA) and DTE Energy (DTE) both with a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy) [8] - VST has a long-term earnings growth rate of 17.4%, with a projected 24.8% year-over-year increase in 2024 EPS [8] - IDA and DTE have long-term earnings growth rates of 8.31% and 8.04%, respectively, with projected year-over-year EPS growth of 5.5% and 18% for 2024 [9]