Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK) provides electric and gas services in three regions of the United States. They have been in service for over 150 years, and after merging with Progress Energy in 2012 they became the largest electric power holding company in America. Duke supplies energy to over 7 million customers in the southeast and Midwest states. Their total coverage area is around 104,000 square miles. Here is a map of what the combined Duke and Progress markets came to form:
Duke Energy ended trading Feb. 4 at $68.35. At this price, Duke is trading at about 21.5 times earnings and 15.7 times 2013 earnings. Their current price to earnings ratio is higher than that of Southern, American Electric, and PG&E, but their forward price to earnings is in the same ballpark. The chart below shows the companies’ current price to earnings multiples and their forward price to earnings. Notice that although some have higher current P/E’s, they all have favorable forward P/E’s. This shows that the companies have strong growth and will continue to return value to their shareholders.
Duke pays out a $3.06 dividend, or 4.40% annually. This represents a solid opportunity for investors looking to add yield to their portfolio. They have paid dividends for 86 consecutive years and have increased this dividend each year since 2007. When taking the financials into consideration, it is easy to say that the dividend is safe. The large yields of Southern, American Electric, and PG&E also pass the dividend safety test. Also, notice in the chart below that these four companies have very similar yields.