5 Best Electric Utility Stocks to Buy Now

3. Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 34

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK) is a North Carolina-based electric and natural gas utilities company serving 7.2 million customers. It has 58200 megawatts It is ranked third on our list of 10 best electric utility stocks to buy now. The stock has returned over 30.84% to investors over the course of the past year.

On May 10, Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK) posted earnings for the first quarter of 2021, reporting earnings per share of $1.26, beating estimates by $0.05. The revenue over the period was around $6.15 billion, up 3.38% year-over-year.

At the end of the first quarter of 2021, 34 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $602 million in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK). Out of the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, D. E. Shaw has the most valuable stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK) as of the end of the first quarter of 2021, worth close to $133 million, comprising 0.12% of its total 13F portfolio.

On June 25, Argus raised its rating on Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK) to Buy from Hold and gave the company a $106 price target, noting its strong first quarter earnings as well as its dividend yield of 3.9%.