Evergy, Inc. EVRG reported fourth-quarter 2020 operating earnings of 28 cents per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 20 cents by 40%. The reported earnings, however, were down 12.5% year over year due to lower retail sales, thanks to unfavorable weather and reduction in demand due to the pandemic.GAAP earnings for the reported quarter were 22 cents compared with 28 cents per share in the year-ago period.Total RevenuesEvergy’s total revenues came in at $1,094.4 million, reflecting a decline of 3.3% from the year-ago-quarter’s $1,131.6 million.Evergy Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Evergy Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Evergy Inc. QuoteHighlights of the ReleaseTotal operating expenses were $941.4 million, down 2.5% from the year-ago quarter’s $965.8 million owing to lower fuel and purchased power, along with a decline in operating and maintenance costs.Interest expenses for the reported quarter were $93.4 million, down 3.4% from the year-ago level.Financial UpdateCash and cash equivalents as of Dec 31, 2020 were $144.9 million compared with $23.2 million at 2019-end.Long-term debt as of Dec 31, 2020 was $9,190.9 million compared with $8,746.7 million at 2019-end.Cash from operating activities for 2020 was $1,753.8 million compared with $1,749 million in 2019.GuidanceEvergy issued its 2021 operating earnings per share guidance in the range of $3.20-$3.40, which does not reflect the expected positive impact of power marketing activities during the February extreme weather event.Evergy has updated five-year (2021-2025) capital plan to $9.2 billion, up from the previous guidance of $8.9 billion for the 2020-2024 time frame. The expenditures will be directed toward utility projects, with an objective of modernizing the grid, and increasing efficiency as well as reliability of operations.Zacks RankCurrently, Evergy has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Recent ReleasesExelon Corporation’s EXC fourth-quarter 2020 operating earnings of 76 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 71 cents by 7%.NextEra Energy, Inc. NEE reported fourth-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings of 40 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 39 cents by 2.6%.Xcel Energy Inc. XEL posted fourth-quarter 2020 operating earnings of 54 cents per share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.Just Released: Zacks’ 7 Best Stocks for TodayExperts extracted 7 stocks from the list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys that has beaten the market more than 2X over with a stunning average gain of +24.9% per year.These 7 were selected because of their superior potential for immediate breakout.See these time-sensitive tickers now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Exelon Corporation (EXC): Free Stock Analysis Report Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL): Free Stock Analysis Report NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE): Free Stock Analysis Report Evergy Inc. (EVRG): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research