We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Electric Utility Stocks To Invest In. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) stands against the other electric utility stocks.
Utilities have historically been seen as defensive assets, so the combination of strong economic growth, technological excitement, and higher bond yields has created an unusual backdrop for their recent outperformance. In 2023, the U.S. power and utilities sector made significant strides in decarbonization, setting new records in solar power deployment and energy storage, and enhancing grid reliability and flexibility. The sector experienced mixed fundamentals, with mild weather leading to a slight decline in electricity sales. Wholesale electricity prices fell alongside lower natural gas costs, yet high capital expenditures for grid modernization and decarbonization, along with rising interest rates, contributed to potential increases in customer bills.
In 2024 however, the utility sector seems to have outperformed the broader market, diverging from its typical sensitivity to long-term interest rates. Jefferies analysts, in a report released on September 19, attributed this outperformance to AI-related growth opportunities and the sector’s defensive nature amid a softening economy. With falling rates, rising electricity usage, and expectations for increased data center demand linked to AI, the typically stable utility stocks have seen an unprecedented rally. This trend has driven gains in ETFs and mutual funds centered on utilities, including the $18 billion Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF, which has returned 21.77% year-to-date as of November 5, outperforming many other SPDR sector funds. Travis Miller, an energy and utilities strategist at Morningstar, noted:
“Utilities have rebounded sharply since their October 2023 low as the market began anticipating a shift toward lower interest rates and an increase in US energy demand. AI data centers and manufacturing growth represent the biggest sources of potential energy demand growth for utilities in decades.”
Expanding on that, Mckinsey states that the rapid adoption of digitalization and AI has sharply increased the demand for data centers in the United States. To match the current pace of adoption, data center power needs are expected to grow to roughly three times today’s capacity by 2030, rising from 3–4% of total U.S. power demand to about 11–12%. Meeting this demand will require a significant increase in electricity production, marking an unprecedented shift in the U.S., where overall power demand has been mostly flat since 2007. Data center load could represent 30–40% of all net new demand through 2030, alongside growing needs from domestic manufacturing, electric vehicles, and electrolyzers. From 2024 to 2030, electricity demand from data centers alone is projected to rise by approximately 400 terawatt-hours, with a compound annual growth rate of about 23%.
The Federal Reserve’s recent 0.5% rate cut, or 50 basis points, is anticipated to provide a boost to renewable energy developers and project sponsors. According to Mona Dajani, partner and global co-chair of energy, infrastructure, and hydrogen at law firm Baker Botts, the start of a rate-cutting cycle “will jumpstart projects.” She noted the following about renewable initiatives:
“They’re very sensitive to the cost of capital, particularly for capital-intensive technologies like offshore wind, clean hydrogen, carbon capture, and solar [plus] storage.”
Dajani further noted that the market expects the Fed to reduce rates by a total of 100 basis points by year-end, which “would support the growth of the domestic supply chain for clean energy, easing the financing and construction of new facilities for solar, batteries, EVs, and wind.”
Our Methodology
To create our list, we reviewed the stock holdings of the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF. We then selected the top 10 electric utility stocks according to the number of hedge funds holding positions in each. The list is ranked in ascending order of hedge fund interest, as of Q2 2024.
Why do we care about what hedge funds do? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
A power line stretching across a sunbathed landscape with rural homes in the foreground.
Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 36
Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG), created in 2018 from the merger of Great Plains Energy and Westar Energy, serves 1.7 million customers across Kansas and Missouri, with over 40 power plants providing a generating capacity of 16,000 megawatts.
On October 29, Mizuho initiated coverage on Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) with an Outperform rating and a $67 price target. Mizuho’s analysis indicates that Evergy’s shares are trading at about a 12% P/E discount relative to its peers, with the potential to narrow to a low-single-digit discount in the near term and reach peer-level valuations over the long term. According to the firm, Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) plans to grow its rate base at a 6% CAGR through 2028, supporting EPS growth of 4%-6% through 2026 without needing additional equity. Mizuho also noted potential for additional capital expenditure, particularly in power generation, to meet the rising demand from data centers and manufacturing in Kansas and Missouri.
By the end of Q2 2024, 36 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held stakes in Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG), up from 35 in the previous quarter, with total holdings exceeding $1.22 billion.
Artisan Value Income Fund stated the following regarding Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“In Q1, we added two utilities to the portfolio: Alliant Energy and Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG). Evergy serves more than 1.7 million customers in Kansas and Missouri. In addition to the aforementioned dynamics weighing on utilities share prices, Evergy had two key rate cases in 2023, one in Kansas and the other in Missouri, that presented risk for investors. The Missouri case went better than expected, but the returns allowed by the Kansas regulator were punishingly low. Though Evergy operates in a subpar regulatory environment, the utility is a good operator, with strong customer satisfaction scores, below-average capex needs and a clean balance sheet. The regulatory environment may improve at some point, but even if it does not, Evergy trades for just 13X 2024 earnings, which is below average relative to its history and peers— and pays a dividend yielding 4.7%.”
Overall EVRG ranks 8th on our list of the best electric utility stocks to invest in. While we acknowledge the potential of EVRG as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than EVRG but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.