Stock Update: Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK) – Duke Energy reviews state civil penalty while making strong progress in closing ash basins

[PR Newswire] – CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Duke Energy today issued the following statement regarding a civil penalty issued by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) related … Read more on this. Duke Energy Corporation (DUK) , with a current market cap of $54.20B, opened this morning at $78.90. Looking at today’s trading action, the company’s one day range from $78.24 to $79.85 with a trailing 52-week range being $65.50 to $84.29. DUK shares are currently priced at 17.32x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry ’s 8.46x earnings multiple. And for income investors, the company pays shareholders $3.30 per share annually in dividends, yielding 4.18%. In a review of the consensus earnings estimate this quarter, 18 sell-side analysts are looking at $0.90 per share, which would be $0.04 better than the year-ago quarter and a $0.03 sequential decrease. The full-year EPS estimate is $4.57 which would be a $0.02 better than last year’s full-year earnings. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $6.29 Billion. If reported, that would be a 13.13% increase over the year-ago quarter. In terms of ratings, Wells Fargo downgraded DUK from Outperform to Market Perform (Feb 2, 2016). Previously, BofA/Merrill upgraded DUK from Underperform to Neutral. Given all the information above, we should disclose to readers that the average price target is $76.58, which is 2.94% below than it opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:DUK) Similar Articles: Market Update (NYSE:DUK): Duke Energy reviews state’s recommendations while ash management work continues Market Update: Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK) – Duke Energy’s solar rebate helps customers harness the sun in the Palmetto State Company Update: Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK) – $7 million settlement with the state advances Duke Energy’s efforts to close coal ash basins in ways that protect people and the environment