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Duke Energy (DUK) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Duke Energy (DUK - Free Report) closed at $99.61, marking a +1.31% move from the previous day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.97%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.88%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.25%.

Heading into today, shares of the electric utility had lost 8.69% over the past month, outpacing the Utilities sector's loss of 9.76% and the S&P 500's loss of 9.93% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Duke Energy as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, Duke Energy is projected to report earnings of $1.85 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 1.6%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $7.19 billion, up 3.38% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.45 per share and revenue of $27.43 billion. These totals would mark changes of +4.01% and +9.29%, respectively, from last year.

Investors might also notice 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.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Duke Energy is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Duke Energy is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 18.05. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 17.76, so we one might conclude that Duke Energy is trading at a premium comparatively.

Meanwhile, DUK's PEG ratio is currently 2.96. 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 industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 3.01 as of yesterday's close.

The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 65, putting it in the top 26% 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.

To follow DUK in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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