Company Update: Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK) – Duke Energy reports first quarter 2016 adjusted earnings

[PR Newswire] – CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — First quarter 2016 adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) were $1.13 compared to $1.24 for the first quarter of 2015, reflecting the impact of milder winter … Read more on this. Duke Energy Corporation (DUK) , valued at $54.54B, started the session at $78.94. A quick look at the market, the company’s stock traded between $78.84 and $79.57 with a trailing 52-week range being $65.50 to $81.39. DUK shares are currently priced at 17.20x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 17.10x forward p/e ratio. The company pays shareholders $3.30 per share annually in dividends, yielding 4.19%. In a review of the consensus earnings estimate this quarter, 14 sell-side analysts are looking at $1.14 per share, which would be $0.10 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.03 sequential decrease. In looking at the bigger picture, the full-year EPS estimate of $4.59 would be a $0.05 better when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $6.05 Billion. If reported, that would be a 0.17% decrease over the year-ago quarter. More recently, JP Morgan downgraded DUK from Overweight to Neutral (Feb 19, 2016). Previously, Wells Fargo downgraded DUK from Outperform to Market Perform. The average price target for DUK shares by the analysts covering the stock is $79.65, which is 0.90% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:DUK) Similar Articles: Company Update: Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK) – Duke Energy to announce first quarter 2016 earnings on May 3 Company Update (NYSE:DUK): Duke Energy reports 2015 adjusted EPS and introduces 2016 adjusted EPS guidance range Company Update: Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK) – Duke Energy reports third quarter 2015 financial results