01:00 PM EDT, 05/09/2024 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

We lower our 12-month target by $6 to $63, 16.5x our 2024 EPS view (up $0.01 to $3.83; we raise our 2025 estimate by $0.05 to $4.04), a discount to peers to reflect somewhat slower near-term dividend growth, in our view, and below EVRG's historical average to reflect a higher interest rate environment. We continue to see attractive valuation upside in shares, which recently traded near a 10% discount to the peer median despite trading in line with peers based on five-year historical averages. Q1 EPS of $0.54 vs. $0.59 was $0.10 below consensus, with unfavorable weather and higher interest expense offsetting higher customer rates and higher transmission margin. Supported by planned data center investments from Google and Meta as well as an EV battery plant investment from Panasonic within EVRG's service territory, EVRG extended its 2%-3% weather-normalized electric demand growth guidance to 2028 from 2026 (using 2023 base levels). Shares yield 4.7%, above the 4.0% peer median.