Mizuho Upgrades Duke Energy (DUK) to Outperform

Mizuho analyst Anthony Crowdell upgraded Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) from Neutral to Outperform with a price target of $121.00 (from $116.00).

The analyst comments: "We are upgrading DUK to Outperform from Neutral, and view the selloff related to the recent storms in the Southeast as a great buying opportunity. Duke's southeastern service territory has storm mechanisms that enable the utility to recover storm restoration costs associated with Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Additionally, the Southeast is experiencing robust economic development, and we expect the region will be less impacted by customer affordability concerns, relative to other parts of the country. We believe neither of these benefits are reflected in Duke's modest 5% P/E premium. Management is expected to update its 1.5%-2.0% load forecast on the 4Q call and, while we don't anticipate a change to Duke's 5-7% EPS CAGR, we believe the roll-forward of capex and higher load forecast will create "earnings resiliency." We update our PT to $121 based on current market P/E multiples."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Duke Energy click here. For more ratings news on Duke Energy click here.

Shares of Duke Energy closed at $115.09 yesterday.

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