5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Duke Energy

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 115,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, electricity giant Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) has earned a coveted five-star ranking. Our data has shown that five-star stocks outperform the market by a significant margin; conversely, one-star stocks have woefully lagged the market average.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Duke Energy's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Duke Energy facts

Headquarters (Founded)	Charlotte, North Carolina (1916)
Market Cap	$23.25 billion
Industry	Electric Utilities
TTM Revenue	$13.00 billion
Management	CEO James Rogers CFO David Hauser
Return on Equity (average last three years)	7.37%
Competitors	American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), Progress Energy (NYSE: PGN)
CAPS members bullish on DUK also bullish on	Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Altria Group (NYSE: MO)
CAPS members bearish on DUK also bearish on	Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Lowe's (NYSE: LOW)

Sources: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's, and Motley Fool CAPS. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over on CAPS, fully 340 of 354 of the All-Star members who have rated Duke Energy -- some 96% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These All-Star bulls include sberberick and BuildMWell, both of whom are ranked in the top 20% of our community.

Just two days ago, sberberick informed our community that "at this price w/ a 5.2% yield I added to my position today. I like the fact they are going heavy and hard into wind. They are a well run safe long term investment. Very diversifed utility."

An earlier (and more detailed) pitch from BuildMWell in May shared that bullish sentiment. Here's part of it: "Duke is one of the nation's most efficient electric power producers due to their excess nuclear capacity. Lower fuel costs equals low cost power...."

The third "win" is for the shareholders. This is an improvement since Duke is no longer forced to sell excess capacity at wholesale rates to other power companies. Instead, they receive higher prices for their power by selling direct to their new customer base. The net result should accrue to outstanding earnings growth and share price increases.

What do you think about Duke Energy, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 115,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.