UPDATE: Credit Suisse Upgrades Duke Energy to Outperform on Near-Term Visibility

Credit Suisse raises its rating on Duke Energy

from Neutral to Outperform and increases its price target from $22 to $25.50. Credit Suisse notes, "We think near-visibility (finally) to a merged DUK-PGN offers an attractive vehicle for large cap Regulated Utility exposure offering competitive EPS growth potential at 4-6% (with low end of synergies), a good dividend yield at 4.3%, a highly regulated business mix at 86% of earnings that dilutes legacy concerns about Duke's International / OH generation exposure, and ~1.0x P/E multiple discount that translates into an annualized rate of return of 10.1%." DUK closed at $23.15 on Friday.