Duke Energy Corp (DUK) is slightly undervalued and Xcel Energy Inc (XEL) is slightly overvalued.
Against our estimates of intrinsic value, DUK trades at the wider discount: a margin of safety of +14%, against -8% for XEL.
Values as of the 22 Sept 2026 close.
Discounting its cash flows at 6.9% (average of 2 methods) values the shares at $135.16; the price of $116.31 is 14% below that value, and 83% of that value comes from beyond year five.
Leak Score 48/100 on 10 of 12 signals
Discounting its cash flows at 7.7% (average of 2 methods) values the shares at $66.77; the price of $72.06 is 8% above that value.
Leak Score 37/100 on 10 of 12 signals
| Metric | DUK | XEL |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Slightly undervalued | Slightly overvalued |
| Price | $116.31 | $72.06 |
| Intrinsic value | $135.16 | $66.77 |
| Margin of safety | +14% | -8% |
| Leak Score | 48/100 (10/12) | 37/100 (10/12) |
| Market cap | $90.7B | $45.0B |
| Revenue growth, 5 years | 6.2% | 4.9% |
| Operating margin | 26.6% | 21.2% |
| Net margin | 15.6% | 15.3% |
| Return on equity | 9.9% | 9.9% |
| Debt to equity | 1.68 | 1.73 |
| P/E | 17.4x | 19.7x |
| Forward P/E | 16.2x | 15.8x |
| P/B | 1.7x | 1.9x |
| Dividend yield | 3.8% | 3.3% |