Duke Energy Corp. Q1 Profit Beats, But Revenue Falls Short

Written by StockNews.com

Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE:DUK) early Tuesday posted mixed first quarter earnings results and offered an in-line outlook for 2017, as it battles warmer weather by aggressive cost controls.

The Charlotte, NC-based energy giant reported Q1:

• earnings per share (EPS) of $1.04, which was $0.01 better than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $1.03 [while]
• revenues rose 6.5% from last year to $5.73 billion, but fell short of analysts’ view for $5.76 billion...

Looking ahead, DUK:

• forecast full-year 2017 EPS of $4.50 to $4.70, which is right in-line with analysts’ consensus outlook of $4.60.

Lynn Good, Duke Energy Chairman, President and CEO, commented via press release:

“We have a compelling strategy to deliver value to our stakeholders, and we are making good progress against our plan.

We recently announced Power/Forward Carolinas, our 10-year grid modernization plan in North Carolina. This program and others like it will not only strengthen the energy grid, but will also stimulate economic development and job growth in our communities and provide additional benefits for our customers.”

“Our ongoing investments drove solid growth in our electric and gas utilities in the quarter, and we are responding to warm winter weather through disciplined cost management and operational efficiency. 

We remain on-track for 2017 and have affirmed our full-year guidance range.”

...Year-to-date, DUK has gained 8.01%, versus a 7.68% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

DUK currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #2 of 69 stocks in the Utilities – Domestic category.