We recently published a list of 15 Best Large-Cap Value Stocks to Buy as the Recession Hits. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) stands against other best large-cap value stocks to buy as the recession hits.
Goldman Sachs highlighted that equities around the world traded in and out of a bear market — which is often defined as a 20% decline from the recent peak. According to Peter Oppenheimer, chief global equity strategist at Goldman Sachs Research, the history of bear markets can provide some clues regarding the duration and severity of such downturns. U.S. stocks ended significantly higher after Trump announced his decision to put a 90-day pause on the additional country-specific portion of the reciprocal tariffs. That being said, Oppenheimer believes that a sustained rebound isn’t yet in place. As per the strategist, the valuations are required to adjust further before equities can shift into the “hope” phase of the next cycle.
What to Expect from Current Earnings Season?
With the Q1 2025 earnings season underway, Morningstar informs that investors can expect more focus than usual on what companies want to say regarding their outlooks, while the uncertainty surrounding tariffs means offering weaker, less confident, or even no guidance. Tariffs can impact the corporate bottom lines in several ways, both directly and indirectly. Notably, the increased import costs put more pressure on the margins. While some firms can decide to alleviate the pressure by increasing the prices for customers, others can choose to absorb them, says the firm. Morningstar, while quoting FactSet’s consensus estimates, mentioned that analysts expect 6.8% earnings growth in Q1 for companies in the S&P 500 benchmark index. For the full year, analysts anticipate an 11.2% growth.
READ ALSO: 7 Best Stocks to Buy For Long-Term and 8 Cheap Jim Cramer Stocks to Invest In.
Amidst Tensions, What’s the Silver Lining?
Forward guidance is what generally moves the financial markets. If the firm warns that there can be a possibility to see smaller profits, the stock tends to fall. This might happen across the market, but there is a silver lining. As per Morningstar chief research and investment officer Dan Kemp, it is important to note that most of the value lies in the future. Therefore, the impact on the company’s real value is expected to be muted. According to him, widening of the gap between stock prices and future real values can be a very fertile soil for the market investors.
Christian Mueller-Glissmann, head of asset allocation research within portfolio strategy for Goldman Sachs Research, says that investors need to think about diversifying regionally and across styles. To be specific, this consists of low-volatility stocks, i.e., equities from more defensive sectors, that fluctuate less than the broader market.
Our Methodology
To list the 15 Best Large-Cap Value Stocks to Buy as the Recession Hits, we considered companies from the industries which are expected to be resilient in a recessionary environment, such as utilities, healthcare, and consumer. Next, we chose the stocks that trade at a forward P/E of less than ~20.0x. Finally, the stocks are arranged in ascending order of the hedge fund sentiments, as of Q4 2024.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
Aerial view of a power plant near a lake lit up at night, showing off the company’s expansive electricity generation capabilities.
Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 62
Forward P/E as of April 15: ~19.1x
Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) operates as an energy company. Jefferies analyst Julien Dumoulin-Smith upped the company’s price objective to $133.00 from the prior target of $132.00 while reiterating a “Buy” rating. Notably, the adjustment demonstrates a favorable outlook on Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)’s potential to act as a stable investment amidst market uncertainties, including tariffs and other macroeconomic challenges. The analyst believes that the company’s stock remains less impacted by the global tariff issues as compared to other companies. Overall, the firm’s analysis hints at the company’s capacity to provide investors with a mix of growth and stability, which makes it a compelling investment option.
Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)’s focus on clean energy and sustainability can deliver several benefits. The transition towards clean energy aligns the company with growing consumer and investor preferences for sustainable businesses. This can improve its reputation, potentially bringing in environmentally-conscious customers and investors. It can also develop new business opportunities. Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)’s higher full-year 2024 adjusted results were mainly aided by growth from rate increases and riders, improved weather, and higher sales volumes. Notably, the company posted an adjusted EPS of $5.90 as compared to $5.56 in FY 2023.
Overall, DUK ranks 9th on our list of best large-cap value stocks to buy as the recession hits. While we acknowledge the potential of DUK as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some deeply undervalued AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for a deeply undervalued AI stock that is more promising than DUK but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.