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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 $102.54, marking a +0.09% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.05%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.02%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 9.7%.

Heading into today, shares of the electric utility had lost 1.21% over the past month, lagging the Utilities sector's loss of 0.1% and the S&P 500's gain of 6.27% in that time.

Duke Energy will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be February 9, 2023. On that day, Duke Energy is projected to report earnings of $1.07 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 13.83%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $6.59 billion, up 5.64% from the prior-year quarter.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Duke Energy. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.62% lower. Duke Energy currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Duke Energy is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 18.18. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 17.63.

Investors should also note that DUK has a PEG ratio of 3.33 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Utility - Electric Power industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 3.19 as of yesterday's close.

The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 94, putting it in the top 38% 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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