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SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2019
Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract] |
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY | SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY Common Stock Repurchase Program In July 2018, the Evergy Board authorized the repurchase of up to 60 million shares of Evergy's common stock. Although this repurchase authorization has no expiration date, Evergy expects to repurchase approximately 60 million shares by mid-2020. Evergy plans to utilize various methods to effectuate the share repurchase program, including but not limited to, a series of transactions that may include accelerated share repurchases (ASRs), open market transactions or other means, subject to market conditions and applicable legal requirements. The repurchase program may be suspended, discontinued or resumed at any time. For the three months ended March 31, 2019, Evergy had total repurchases of common stock of $578.3 million and had repurchased 10.5 million shares under the repurchase program. Since its inception, Evergy has made total repurchases of common stock of approximately $1.6 billion and has repurchased 26.9 million shares under the repurchase program. These repurchase totals include shares repurchased under an ASR agreement that had not reached final settlement as of March 31, 2019, and is discussed further below. In November 2018, Evergy entered into an ASR agreement with a financial institution to purchase $475.0 million of Evergy common stock. In December 2018, the financial institution delivered to Evergy 6.4 million shares of common stock, representing a partial settlement of the contract, based on then-current market prices and Evergy paid a total of $475.0 million. The ASR agreement reached final settlement in February 2019 and resulted in the delivery of an additional 1.9 million shares to Evergy based on the average daily volume weighted-average price of Evergy common stock during the term of the ASR agreement, less a negotiated discount. In March 2019, Evergy entered into an ASR agreement with a financial institution to purchase $450.0 million of Evergy common stock. In March 2019, the financial institution delivered to Evergy 6.3 million shares of common stock, representing a partial settlement of the contract, based on then-current market prices and Evergy paid a total of $450.0 million. The final number of shares of Evergy common stock that Evergy may receive or be required to remit upon settlement of the ASR agreement will be based on the average daily volume weighted-average price of Evergy common stock during the term of the ASR agreement, less a negotiated discount. Final settlement of the ASR agreement will occur by June 2019, but may occur earlier at the option of the financial institution. Evergy expects that the final settlement of the ASR agreement will result in the delivery of additional shares of common stock to Evergy at no additional cost. Evergy reflects ASRs as a repurchase of common stock in the period the shares are delivered for purposes of calculating earnings per share and as forward contracts indexed to its own common stock. Evergy's ASRs have met all of the applicable criteria for equity classification and therefore are not accounted for as derivative instruments. Dividend Restrictions Evergy depends on its subsidiaries to pay dividends on its common stock. The Evergy Companies have certain restrictions stemming from statutory requirements, corporate organizational documents, covenants and other conditions that could affect dividend levels or the ability to pay dividends. The KCC order authorizing the merger transaction requires Evergy to maintain consolidated common equity of at least 35% of total consolidated capitalization. Under the Federal Power Act, Westar Energy, KCP&L and GMO generally can pay dividends only out of retained earnings. Certain conditions in the MPSC and KCC orders authorizing the merger transaction also require Westar Energy and KCP&L to maintain consolidated common equity of at least 40% of total capitalization. Other conditions in the MPSC and KCC merger orders require Westar Energy, KCP&L and GMO to maintain credit ratings of at least investment grade. If Westar Energy's, KCP&L's or GMO's credit ratings are downgraded below the investment grade level as a result of their affiliation with Evergy or any of Evergy's affiliates, the impacted utility shall not pay a dividend to Evergy without KCC or MPSC approval or until the impacted utility's investment grade credit rating has been restored. The master credit facility of Evergy, Westar Energy, KCP&L and GMO, the term loan agreement of Evergy and the note purchase agreements for certain GMO senior notes contain covenants requiring the respective company to maintain a consolidated indebtedness to consolidated total capitalization ratio of not more than 0.65 to 1.00 at all times. As of March 31, 2019, all of Evergy's and Westar Energy's retained earnings and net income were free of restrictions and KCP&L had a retained earnings restriction of $471.2 million. Evergy's subsidiaries had restricted net assets of approximately $5.4 billion as of March 31, 2019. These restrictions are not expected to affect the Evergy Companies' ability to pay dividends at the current level for the foreseeable future.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for shareholders' equity comprised of portions attributable to the parent entity and noncontrolling interest, including other comprehensive income. Includes, but is not limited to, balances of common stock, preferred stock, additional paid-in capital, other capital and retained earnings, accumulated balance for each classification of other comprehensive income and amount of comprehensive income. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 505 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2208762 + Details
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