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Duke Energy (DUK) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: Here's Why

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In the latest trading session, Duke Energy (DUK - Free Report) closed at $122.39, marking a -1.1% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.34%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.09%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.42%.

The stock of electric utility has risen by 1.53% in the past month, lagging the Utilities sector's gain of 3.13% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.54%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Duke Energy in its upcoming earnings disclosure. On that day, Duke Energy is projected to report earnings of $1.7 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 4.94%. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $8.41 billion, indicating a 3.15% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $6.32 per share and a revenue of $31.76 billion, indicating changes of +7.12% and +4.62%, respectively, from the former year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Duke Energy. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an 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, there's been a 0% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Duke Energy presently features a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

From a valuation perspective, Duke Energy is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 19.58. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 18.47, which means Duke Energy is trading at a premium to the group.

Investors should also note that DUK has a PEG ratio of 2.99 right now. 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. As the market closed yesterday, the Utility - Electric Power industry was having an average PEG ratio of 2.82.

The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 72, positioning it in the top 30% of all 250+ industries.

The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.


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