In the latest trading session, Duke Energy (DUK) closed at $115.56, marking a -1.69% move from the previous day. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.88% for the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.38%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 1.31%.
The stock of electric utility has fallen by 4.07% in the past month, lagging the Utilities sector's loss of 3.75% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.48%.
The upcoming earnings release of Duke Energy will be of great interest to investors. In that report, analysts expect Duke Energy to post earnings of $1.54 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 7.23%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $7.66 billion, up 4.11% from the prior-year quarter.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $6.32 per share and a revenue of $31.83 billion, representing changes of +7.12% and +4.87%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Duke Energy should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.18% lower within the past month. Duke Energy is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Duke Energy has a Forward P/E ratio of 18.61 right now. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 18.66 of its industry.
We can also see that DUK currently has a PEG ratio of 2.71. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Utility - Electric Power was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.71 at yesterday's closing price.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 75, which puts it in the top 31% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
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Duke Energy Corporation (DUK): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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