Duke Energy's 12-month Return Potential 'Unexciting,' Says Argus

Argus provided its outlook on Duke Energy Corp

in its Market Digest published Monday. The analysts reiterated their Hold rating on the company, stating that the shares currently trade at 17.8-times their 2017 EPS estimate of $4.75, above the average for comparable electric utilities and the five-year historical average of 14.9-times. In addition, Duke also trades at a premium to peers based on price/sales and price/book. "Despite the company's solid fundamentals, including a favorable regulatory environment and an expanding rate base, we see an unexciting total return potential for DUK over the next 12 months." wrote Argus. At the same time, the analysts kept their long-term Buy rating, as they expect above-average rate base growth over the next several years and view the company's recent sale of nonregulated generating assets in the Midwest as a strong positive.