NEW YORK (Bloomberg) -- In eight months, Western Resources Inc. shelled out $5 billion in unsolicited bids to acquire Bermuda-based ADT Ltd. and Kansas City Power & Light Co.

"It's unusual'' to wage two uninvited takeovers in so short a time, said John E. Hayes Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Western Resources Inc.

It's also risky.

Analysts warn that investors' patience may wear thin if the company can't maintain its stock's value.

"The issue is whether stockholders think the transaction is in their interests,'' said Greg Gordon, analyst with Oppenheimer & Co., of the ADT announcement. "The earnings are going to suffer.'' Gordon said Topeka, Kansas-based Western Resource's profits could fall 25 cents in 1998, the first full year that an acquisition of ADT would affect the bottom line.

As deregulation comes to the utility industry, Western Resources is transforming itself across the country. In December, the company said it would buy Westinghouse Electric Corp.'s home security unit for $368 million cash and $57 million in assumed debt, and sell its natural gas pipelines and plants to Oneok Inc. for $660 million.

Western Resources is anxious to acquire ADT because that acquisition would make Western the largest provider of home-security services in the US.

Western Resources bid $3.5 billion for ADT on December 18, and hopes to wrap up the proposal within 120 days. After a transaction is completed, however, Western's share price could suffer because analysts expect the transaction to cause reduced earnings for the suitor.

Meanwhile, Hayes said the proposed takeover of KCPL would boost earnings at the start -- but added that it may not close for another year.

By making two unfriendly takeover attempts in such a short period, Western Resources is showing how anxious it is to "change our earnings power,'' Hayes, 59, said.

Western Resource investor DePrince, Race & Zollo views the ADT purchase as positive. "We're very pleased with Hayes,'' said Kelly Carbone, a money manager with DePrince, Race & Zollo, which owns 450,000 shares of Western Resources in Orlando, Florida. "This management doesn't sit back and wait for things to happen. We would like to see more aggressiveness from other utility companies.

"We hate to see dilutive deals,'' Carbone said. "But this makes sense. It's going to increase Western Resources' growth rate and customer base while creating more of a national presence for the company.'' Bid stirs up race to `bundle': Page 15