Duke Energy (DUK) Jumped to New Highs After Q1 Earnings Report

Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK) is a leading energy holding company, distributing electricity to more than 7.7 million customers across 6 states. It also has natural gas supply operations that cover 1.6 million customers in 4 states. Lately, the company has been trying to expand its renewable energy portfolio to reduce carbon commission from electricity generation (see largest utility companies in the world).

U.S. President Joe Biden has been calling for a clean energy revolution since winning the elections last year. The government wants to make the country carbon-free by 2050. Automakers and energy companies have outlined aggressive plans to comply with the changing regulations related to carbon emissions. Duke Energy also plans to double its clean energy capacity to 16-Gigawatts by 2025. The company is also looking forward to retiring all coal operations across the Carolinas by the end of this decade.

Duke Energy stock hit a new 52-week high of $102.95 on Monday after announcing its financial results for the first quarter. The company reported earnings of $1.25 per share for the three months ended March 31, slightly higher than $1.24 per share in the comparable period of 2020.

On an adjusted basis, the company earned $1.26 per share, as compared to $1.14 per share in the year-ago quarter. Revenue for the quarter came in at $6.15 billion, versus $5.95 billion in the same quarter of 2020.

Speaking on the results, CEO Lynn Good said in a statement, “We’re off to a very strong start in 2021, executing well and delivering on our commitments to our customers, communities and investors. We are positioned to deliver sustainable long-term value as we accelerate our clean energy transformation by investing in renewables, battery storage and in our delivery system. As a result, we have reaffirmed our 2021 adjusted EPS guidance range of $5.00 to $5.30 and long-term growth rate of 5% to 7%, off the 2021 midpoint.”