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Duke Energy (DUK) Exceeds Market Returns: Some Facts to Consider

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In the latest market close, Duke Energy (DUK - Free Report) reached $86.92, with a +1.68% movement compared to the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.18%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.87%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 1.6%.

Shares of the electric utility have depreciated by 4.38% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Utilities sector's loss of 6.84% and the S&P 500's loss of 5.17%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Duke Energy in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $2.03, indicating a 14.04% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $8.2 billion, up 2.97% from the year-ago period.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.60 per share and a revenue of $29.52 billion, representing changes of +6.26% and +1.33%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Duke Energy. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. 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, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.18% lower within the past month. Duke Energy is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In the context of valuation, Duke Energy is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 15.27. This denotes a premium relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 14.17.

It's also important to note that DUK currently trades at a PEG ratio of 2.51. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. DUK's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.55 as of yesterday's close.

The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 65, finds itself in the top 26% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.


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