Company Update (NYSE:DUK): Pork power gets new meaning with Duke Energy deal in N.C.

[PR Newswire] – CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Duke Energy announced today it will buy swine and poultry waste output from a facility planned for eastern North Carolina – using the captured methane gas … Read more on this. Duke Energy Corporation (DUK) , with a current market cap of $54.31B, opened this morning at $79.06. During the trading session, DUK traded between $78.55 to $79.06 with a trailing 52-week range being $65.50 to $80.40. DUK shares are currently priced at 17.28x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 16.94x earnings multiple for the same period. And for dividend hunters, the company pays shareholders $3.30 per share annually in dividends, yielding 4.14%. According to a consensus of 9 analysts, the earnings estimate of $1.18 per share would be $0.06 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.02 sequential increase. In looking at the bigger picture, the full-year EPS estimate of $4.61 would be a $0.07 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 $6.04 Billion. If realized, that would be a 0.33% decrease over the year-ago quarter. In terms of ratings, 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 $78.03, which is 1.30% below where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:DUK) Similar Articles: Company Update: Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK) – Duke Energy customers surpass 1 terawatt of energy savings through My Home Energy Report Program Company Update (NYSE:DUK): Duke Energy recognizes 2015 Power Partners Company Update: Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK) – Duke Energy reports third quarter 2015 financial results