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Duke Energy (DUK) Stock Falls Amid Market Uptick: What Investors Need to Know

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In the latest trading session, Duke Energy (DUK - Free Report) closed at $115.40, marking a -1.25% move from the previous day. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.94%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.75%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 1.52%.

Heading into today, shares of the electric utility had gained 0.52% over the past month, lagging the Utilities sector's gain of 2.01% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.67%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Duke Energy in its forthcoming earnings report. On that day, Duke Energy is projected to report earnings of $1.25 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 5.93%. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $7.36 billion, showing a 2.69% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.

For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $6.32 per share and a revenue of $31.79 billion, signifying shifts of +7.12% and +4.71%, respectively, from the last year.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Duke Energy. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.

Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable 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, there's been a 0.04% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Duke Energy is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Duke Energy has a Forward P/E ratio of 18.48 right now. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 18.

Investors should also note that DUK has a PEG ratio of 2.92 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 2.63 as of yesterday's close.

The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 70, placing it within the top 29% of over 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.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


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