Duke Energy shares trade at $120.67 after a 53.3% gain over three years, and the article examines whether the dividend stream supports that price using a Dividend Discount Model. The model uses a current dividend of about $4.61 per share, a 9.21% return on equity, a payout ratio a little above 71%, and an implied dividend growth rate near 2.7%. These projections put intrinsic value meaningfully below the current price, suggesting investors are paying a premium for dividend reliability, which a recent data center cost agreement with Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft may help justify. The article also points to the stock's 18.2x P/E as an earnings-based valuation view that tells a different story.
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