Investment analysts at ISI Group lifted their target price on shares of Westar Energy (NYSE: WR) to $34.50 in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

The analysts wrote, “We are raising our ’13-’15 EPS forecast and target price to $34.50 from $33. We now forecast EPS of $2.09 / $2.17 / $2.29 vs. $2.05 / $2.15 / $2.25, reflecting company guidance for ’13, a stable authorized ROE at 10%, and that sales growth trends to >1% by ’15 as WR is seeing signs of economic improvement with uplift in basic materials, automotive supply chain, and food products manufacturing. A 50 basis point change in expected sales growth is worth $0.03/share in ’13.”

Shares of Westar Energy traded down 0.35% during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $31.6999. Westar Energy has a one year low of $26.80 and a one year high of $33.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $30.60. The company has a market cap of $4.010 billion and a P/E ratio of 14.73.

Westar Energy last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 28th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $523.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $503.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Westar Energy has set its FY13 guidance at $2.00-2.15 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Westar Energy will post $2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Analysts at Goldman Sachs reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Westar Energy in a research note to investors on Tuesday. They now have a $32.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $31.00. Separately, analysts at UBS AG raised their price target on shares of Westar Energy from $31.00 to $32.00 in a research note to investors on Tuesday. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, analysts at Ladenburg Thalmann raised their price target on shares of Westar Energy from $29.50 to $33.00 in a research note to investors on Monday. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.

Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. Westar Energy currently has an average rating of “overweight” and an average target price of $33.12.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which is scheduled for Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Westar Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33.

Westar Energy, Inc. (Westar Energy) is an electric utility operating in Kansas. It provides electric generation, transmission and distribution services to approximately 685,000 customers in Kansas.

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