Evergy Inc. (EVRG) Beats Q3 Estimates, Raises 2026 Guidance and Lifts Dividend
Evergy reported higher third-quarter earnings and revenue, raised its full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance, and increased its quarterly dividend by 4%.
Evergy Inc. reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.58 per share on November 5th, up from $2.03 per share in the same quarter last year. Revenue reached $2.10 billion, compared to $1.81 billion a year earlier. The results surpassed consensus expectations, with MarketBeat citing a $2.33 per share earnings consensus and a $1.93 billion revenue forecast, while Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipated $2.3 per share in earnings and topped revenue estimates by 10.63%.
Following the results, Evergy lifted its 2026 adjusted earnings per share outlook to a range of $4.35 to $4.50, up from its prior guidance range of $4.14 to $4.34 per share. Management also reaffirmed its 2027 earnings growth target of 6% to 8% and maintained a long-term adjusted EPS growth target of 6% to 8%+ through 2030, projecting annual growth to exceed 8% starting in 2028. Additionally, the company boosted its quarterly dividend by 4% to $0.7225 per share, representing an annualized rate of $2.89 per share.
Third-quarter adjusted earnings totaled $610 million, compared to $475 million in the prior-year period. Evergy noted that cooling degree days were 31% higher than in the third quarter of 2025 and 26% above normal levels. Weather, customer demand, and large customer revenues contributed $0.46 to quarterly earnings per share, while return on and recovery of regulated investments added $0.17. Higher operations and maintenance, depreciation, and interest expenses reduced results by $0.15 per share.
Evergy outlined a $21.6 billion capital plan, estimating its five-year capital expenditures through 2030 at $22.5 billion. The utility projects retail load growth of approximately 7% to 8% annually through 2030. It reported five executed energy service agreements totaling approximately 2.6 gigawatts of steady-state peak load, which is expected to reach 3.1 gigawatts over time. A letter of intent for an expansion with Digital Realty represents 1.4 gigawatts and an anticipated capital investment of about $4 billion, which is not currently included in the five-year plan.
Wall Street coverage on Evergy remains generally favorable. According to MarketBeat data, analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating on the stock with an average price target of $90.00, reflecting 10 Buy ratings and three Hold ratings. Recent analyst actions include HSBC starting coverage with a "buy" rating and a $92.00 target on October 22nd, and BMO Capital Markets lowering its target to $85.00 while maintaining an "outperform" rating on October 13th.