Duke Energy (DUK) Price Target Lowered by $5

With an annual dividend yield of 3.42%, Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) is included among the 12 Best Dividend Stocks to Invest in According to Hedge Funds.

Duke Energy (DUK) Price Target Lowered by $5

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Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) engages in the distribution of natural gas and energy-related services. The company owns and operates a diverse mix of regulated power plants – including hydro, coal, nuclear, natural gas, solar, and battery storage.

On May 18, Truist analyst Richard Sunderland lowered the firm’s price target on Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) from $142 to $137, but kept a ‘Buy’ rating on the shares. The trimmed target, which still indicates an upside of 10% from the current levels, came as part of a broader research note revising the analyst firm’s models in the Power and Utilities group ahead of the American Gas Association’s Financial Forum.

As we stand in the third year of the data center wave, investments and growth expectations across the sector continue to rise. Truist believes that integrated electric utilities are the key beneficiaries in the current scenario, given their role in building the infrastructure to serve the soaring energy demand.

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) continues to benefit from the AI boom and signed an additional 2.7 GW of electric service agreements with data center customers during Q1, bringing its total executed agreements to around 7.6 GW. Moreover, the utility announced that it was in advanced discussions on ​an additional 15.4 GW of data centers.

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) was also recently included in our list of the 12 Best Electric Utility Stocks to Buy for the Data Center Power Surge.

While we acknowledge the risk and potential of DUK as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than DUK and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

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