Duke Energy (DUK) closed the most recent trading day at $90.30, moving +0.92% from the previous trading session. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.07%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.25%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.14%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the electric utility had gained 4.94% over the past month. This has lagged the Utilities sector's gain of 5.39% and the S&P 500's gain of 6.28% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from DUK as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be February 14, 2019. On that day, DUK is projected to report earnings of $0.89 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 5.32%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $5.61 billion, down 4.11% from the year-ago period.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for DUK. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.33% 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 18.04. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 18.48.
Meanwhile, DUK's PEG ratio is currently 3.62. 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 was holding an average PEG ratio of 3.31 at yesterday's closing price.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 82, which puts it in the top 33% of all 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.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK): Free Stock Analysis Report
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