Duke Energy Corporation (DUK), headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity and natural gas to 8.4 million customers. Valued at $88 billion by market cap, the company also invests in pipeline transmission, renewable natural gas initiatives and storage infrastructure.
Shares of this leading energy company have underperformed the broader market over the past year. DUK has gained 19.5% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied nearly 22.6%. However, in 2025, DUK stock is up 5.7%,surpassing SPX’s 3.1% rise on a YTD basis.
Narrowing the focus, DUK’s underperformance is also apparent compared to iShares U.S. Utilities ETF (IDU). The exchange-traded fund has gained about 30.6% over the past year. However, DUK’s returns on a YTD basis outshine the ETF’s 4.2% gains over the same time frame.
DUK's underperformance can be attributed to restoration costs after the 2024 hurricane season, which saw 5.5 million outages from storms Milton, Debby, and Helene.
On Nov. 7, DUK shares closed down more than 2% after reporting its Q3 results. Its adjusted EPS of $1.62 missed Wall Street expectations of $1.73. The company’s revenue was $8.2 billion, beating Wall Street forecasts of $8 billion. DUK expects full-year adjusted EPS to be between $5.85 and $6.10.
For the current fiscal year, ended in December 2024, analysts expected DUK’s EPS to grow 6.3% to $5.91 on a diluted basis. The company’s earnings surprise history is mixed. It beat the consensus estimates in two of the last four quarters while missing the forecast on two other occasions.
Among the 21 analysts covering DUK stock, the consensus is a “Moderate Buy.” That’s based on 11 “Strong Buy” ratings, one “Moderate Buy,” and nine “Holds.”
The configuration has been consistent over the past three months.
On Feb. 3, BMO Capital analyst James Thalacker kept an “Outperform” rating on DUK and raised the price target to $124, implying a potential upside of 8.9% from current levels.
The mean price target of $123.18 represents an 8.2% premium to DUK’s current price levels. The Street-high price target of $135 suggests an upside potential of 18.6%.
