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Duke Energy (DUK) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

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Duke Energy (DUK - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $90.62, moving +0.74% from the previous trading session. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.49% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.28%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.43%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the electric utility had gained 3.8% over the past month. This has outpaced the Utilities sector's gain of 3.1% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.9% in that time.

DUK will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, DUK is projected to report earnings of $0.89 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 5.95%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $6.15 billion, up 0.64% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.01 per share and revenue of $25.01 billion. These totals would mark changes of +6.14% and +1.99%, respectively, from last year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for DUK. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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.

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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.04% lower. DUK is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note DUK's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 17.95. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 20.39.

Also, we should mention that DUK has a PEG ratio of 3.71. 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. The Utility - Electric Power industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 3.9 as of yesterday's close.

The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 169, putting 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.

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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