Stock Update: Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK) – North Carolina solar was hot in 2015; Duke Energy led the charge

[PR Newswire] – CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — 2015 marked a banner year for solar power in North Carolina as Duke Energy companies set a record for the amount of solar energy they added in the state … Read more on this. Duke Energy Corporation (DUK) , valued at $48.97B, opened this morning at $72.57. During today’s session, DUK traded between $70.65 to $72.99 with the price of the stock fluctuating between $65.50 to $89.97 over the last 52 weeks. Priced at 15.97x this year’s forecasted earnings, DUK shares are relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 2.95x forward p/e ratio. And for income investors, the company pays shareholders $3.30 per share annually in dividends, yielding 4.56%. Consensus earnings for the current quarter by the 15 sell-side analysts covering the stock is an estimate of $0.92 per share, which would be $0.06 better than the year-ago quarter and a $0.00 sequential decrease. In looking at the bigger picture, the full-year EPS estimate of $4.58 would be a $0.03 better when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is based on a consensus revenue forecast of the current quarter of $6.45 Billion. If realized, that would be a 16.01% increase over the year-ago quarter. More recently, BofA/Merrill upgraded DUK from Underperform to Neutral (Jan 12, 2016). Previously, Scotia Howard Weil Initiated DUK at to Sector Perform. The average price target for DUK shares by the analysts covering it is $75.89, which is 4.57% above where the stock opened. See more in (NYSE:DUK) Similar Articles: Stock Update: Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK) – Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas file with North Carolina Utilities Commission for acquisition approval Market Update: Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK) – Duke Energy Renewables more than doubles its North Carolina solar portfolio Company Update: Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK) – Duke Energy names David Fountain as new North Carolina president