Duke Energy (DUK) Q3 Earnings Coming Up: What To Expect

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) is set to report third-quarter 2019 results on Nov 8, before the opening bell.

In the last reported quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 14.29%. Moreover, the bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters, the average beat being 4.75%.

Let’s see how things have shaped up prior to this announcement.

Factors to Consider

The majority of Duke Energy’s service territories witnessed above-average warm temperatures during most of the third quarter. While Florida had its warmest January–September on record in 2019, North Carolina was warmest on record. South Carolina was the second warmest state.

This is expected to have boosted demand for electricity among the utility’s customers due to increased usage of cooling applications. This must have bolstered the company’s top line in the to-be-reported quarter.

Currently, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter revenues is pegged at $6.82 billion, indicating 2.8% rise from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.

During the third quarter, the company acquired Rambler Solar project from Recurrent Energy, a subsidiary of Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) . We expect acquisition costs related to this deal to have pushed up Duke Energy’s quarterly operating expense. However, the recent base rate increases in Florida and North Carolina are expected to have offset this headwind and boosted the company’s earnings.

Moreover, the company completed nine solar projects totaling 14.1 megawatts (MW), which began commercial operations in the third quarter. Sales from these projects are expected to have boosted Duke Energy’s quarterly earnings.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate is peggedat $1.69 per share, suggesting 2.4% growth from the year-earlier quarter’s reported figure.

In July 2019, Duke Energy increased its quarterly cash dividend by 2%. This indicates solid cash flow generation by the utility, which the upcoming quarterly results are expected to reflect.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not predict an earnings beat for Duke Energy this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. But that's not the case here, as you will see below.

Earnings ESP: Duke Energy has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: The company has a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Stocks to Consider

Investors can consider the following players from the same sector that have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in their upcoming release.

Spire (NYSE:SR) is set to release fourth-quarter fiscal 2019 numbers on Nov 20. It has an Earnings ESP of +2.55% and carries a Zacks Rank #2.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) is scheduled to release third-quarter 2019 results on Nov 7. It has an Earnings ESP of +0.12% and a Zacks Rank #3.

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