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

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The most recent trading session ended with Duke Energy (DUK - Free Report) standing at $95.41, reflecting a +0.28% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.89% gain on the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 1.03%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 1.25%.

Shares of the electric utility have appreciated by 3.48% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Utilities sector's gain of 3.09% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 3.56%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Duke Energy in its upcoming release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.39, up 15.83% from the prior-year quarter. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $7.88 billion, showing an 8.29% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $5.98 per share and a revenue of $30.36 billion, indicating changes of +7.55% and +4.48%, respectively, from the former year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Duke Energy. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. 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, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.1% higher. As of now, Duke Energy holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Duke Energy is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 15.92. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 14.7.

We can additionally observe that DUK currently boasts a PEG ratio of 3.02. 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 2.44 as of yesterday's close.

The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 168, which puts it in the bottom 34% 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.

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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