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Duke Energy (DUK) Advances But Underperforms Market: Key Facts

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Duke Energy (DUK - Free Report) closed the latest trading day at $110.67, indicating a +0.4% change from the previous session's end. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.97%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.3%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.45%.

Heading into today, shares of the electric utility had lost 5.92% over the past month, lagging the Utilities sector's loss of 0.74% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.41% in that time.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Duke Energy in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1.86, reflecting a 4.12% decrease from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $8.15 billion, up 1.98% from the prior-year quarter.

For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $5.97 per share and a revenue of $30.41 billion, signifying shifts of +7.37% and +4.65%, respectively, from the last year.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Duke Energy. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional 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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.06% upward. Duke Energy is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

In the context of valuation, Duke Energy is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 18.46. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 17.28 for its industry.

Investors should also note that DUK has a PEG ratio of 3.03 right now. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Utility - Electric Power industry held an average PEG ratio of 2.78.

The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 52, positioning it in the top 21% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.


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