Duke Energy (DUK) closed the most recent trading day at $87.72, moving -0.07% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.09%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.26%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.25%.
Coming into today, shares of the electric utility had gained 3.67% in the past month. In that same time, the Utilities sector gained 5.89%, while the S&P 500 gained 7.92%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from DUK as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be February 14, 2019. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.89, down 5.32% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $5.61 billion, down 4.11% from the prior-year quarter.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for DUK. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about 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.
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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.33% lower within the past month. DUK is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that DUK has a Forward P/E ratio of 17.69 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 18.54, so we one might conclude that DUK is trading at a discount comparatively.
Investors should also note that DUK has a PEG ratio of 3.55 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. DUK's industry had an average PEG ratio of 3.33 as of yesterday's close.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 50, putting it in the top 20% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. 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): Get Free Report
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