In the latest close session, Duke Energy (DUK) was down 1.85% at $123.73. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.22%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.98%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.35%.
The electric utility's shares have seen an increase of 1.2% over the last month, not keeping up with the Utilities sector's gain of 1.96% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.56%.
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 $1.33 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 6.4%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $7.7 billion, up 2.59% from the year-ago period.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $6.71 per share and revenue of $33.66 billion, indicating changes of +6.34% and +4.43%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Duke Energy. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.
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 last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.04% higher. Currently, Duke Energy is carrying a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
In terms of valuation, Duke Energy is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 18.8. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 18.17 of its industry.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 107, positioning it in the top 44% 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.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
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Duke Energy Corporation (DUK): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).