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Duke Energy (DUK) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

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Duke Energy (DUK - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $100.21, moving -0.02% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.1% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.28%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.09%.

Heading into today, shares of the electric utility had gained 3.29% over the past month, outpacing the Utilities sector's gain of 0.81% and the S&P 500's loss of 3.6% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Duke Energy as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect Duke Energy to post earnings of $1.15 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 22.34%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $6.63 billion, up 6.32% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.31 per share and revenue of $27.93 billion. These totals would mark changes of +1.34% and +11.28%, respectively, from last year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Duke Energy. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.31% lower. Duke Energy is currently a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

In terms of valuation, Duke Energy is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 18.86. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 18.2.

It is also worth noting that DUK currently has a PEG ratio of 3.45. 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. DUK's industry had an average PEG ratio of 3.18 as of yesterday's close.

The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 75, putting it in the top 30% 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.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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