DUK vs NGG vs XEL Stock Comparison

Duke Energy, National Grid and Xcel Energy Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
1 more company in this comparison (EXC) Create a free account to keep reading and compare up to 10 companies.
DUK Duke Energy CORP
$128.39 +12.5% 1M +3.3% 1Y
Market cap
$100.14B
P/E
19.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$33.25B
Div. yield
3.33%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
5 wins
NGG National Grid Plc
$84.39 +10.8% 1M +12.1% 1Y
Market cap
$87.75B
P/E
19.2x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
3.83%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
5 wins
XEL Xcel Energy Inc
$79.33 +11.1% 1M -2.3% 1Y
Market cap
$50.38B
P/E
18.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.87B
Div. yield
2.95%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Duke Energy leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Duke Energy 5, National Grid 5, Xcel Energy 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionDUKNGGXELLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $100.14B $87.75B $50.38B DUK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.3x 19.2x 18.7x XEL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.6x 14.4x 18.4x NGG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.3% — +4.5% DUK
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.6% — 17.9% XEL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.4% — 5.0% DUK
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.3x — 6.0x DUK
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 3.33% 3.83% 2.95% NGG
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +3.3% +12.1% -2.3% NGG
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.6%/yr +5.4%/yr +4.6%/yr NGG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 16.7% 22.5% 19.3% DUK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 73/100 31/100 NGG

Percentile Scorecard

DUKNGGXEL

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisDUKNGGXEL
Valuation 67 #23 of 67 55 #31 of 67 21 #53 of 67
Growth 75 #17 of 65 – 52 #32 of 65
Profitability 78 #15 of 65 – 48 #34 of 65
Financial Health 25 #50 of 66 75 #17 of 66 35 #43 of 66
Shareholder Returns 24 #51 of 67 89 #8 of 67 0 #67 of 67
Overall 54 73 31
  • DUK ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • NGG ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • XEL ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodDUKNGGXELSPY
1 month +12.5%+10.8%+11.1% -2.3%
3 months +3.3%+5.7%+2.1% -0.7%
6 months +0.7%-3.6%-2.3% +4.8%
Year to date +9.5%+9.1%+7.4% +10.3%
1 year +3.3%+12.1%-2.3% +10.3%
3 years +42.2%+35.8%+30.0% +73.0%
3 years, per year +12.5%+10.8%+9.1% +20.1%
5 years +25.2%+30.1%+24.9% +61.9%
5 years, per year +4.6%+5.4%+4.6% +10.1%
10 years +64.6%+21.2%+96.1% +258.6%
10 years, per year +5.1%+1.9%+7.0% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureDUKNGGXELSPY
Volatility, 1Y 16.7%22.5%19.3% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 16.9%24.2%19.6% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.320.31-0.02 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.200.54-0.12 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -26.0%-40.9%-37.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.8%-10.2%-5.5% -3.5%
52-week high $133.46$93.93$83.91 $779.14
52-week low $113.24$73.54$69.39 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleDUKNGGXEL
P/E now vs peer median 19.3xmedian 20.9x 19.2xmedian 20.9x 18.7xmedian 20.9x
P/S now vs peer median 3.0xmedian 2.9x 3.7xmedian 2.9x 3.4xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.2xmedian 13.3x —median 13.3x 13.9xmedian 13.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median -23.4xmedian 41.3x -30.3xmedian 41.3x -6.6xmedian 41.3x
P/B now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 1.8x 1.7xmedian 1.8x 2.0xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median 0.32median 2.15 —median 2.15 1.83median 2.15

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsDUKNGGXEL
Revenue $33.25B – $14.87B
Gross profit $24.76B – –
Operating income $9.23B – $3.23B
Net income $5.38B – $2.67B
Free cash flow -$4.27B – -$7.62B
EPS (diluted) $6.66 – $4.22
Cash & equivalents $673.00M $493.98M $2.48B
Total debt $91.24B $61.59B $40.60B
Shares (diluted) 779.00M 994.20M 632.00M
Enterprise value $98.51B $60.08B $43.86B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricDUKNGGXEL
P/E 19.3x 19.2x 18.7x
P/FCF -23.4x -30.3x -6.6x
P/Operating cash flow 8.7x – 9.9x
P/S 3.0x 3.7x 3.4x
P/B 1.8x 1.7x 2.0x
P/Tangible book 1.8x 1.9x 2.0x
EV/EBITDA 11.2x – 13.9x
EV/EBIT 20.7x – 27.4x
EV/Revenue 5.7x – 6.0x
EV/FCF -44.6x – -11.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.5x – 17.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.32 – 1.83

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDUKNGGXEL
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.3% – 4.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.6% – 0.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.7% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.2% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 9.5% – 37.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 13.2% – 9.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 8.7% – 39.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 59.0% – 15.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 8.9% – 31.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 59.6% – 10.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -3.2% – 11.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 26.8% – -0.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -659.1% – -47.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.5% – -159.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDUKNGGXEL
Gross margin 74.5% – –
EBITDA margin 51.0% – 42.7%
Operating margin 27.8% – 21.7%
Pretax margin 18.6% – 16.8%
Net margin 15.6% – 17.9%
FCF margin -12.9% – -51.2%
Operating cash flow margin 34.8% – 34.1%
Return on equity 9.5% – 10.8%
Return on assets 2.7% – 3.0%
Return on invested capital 5.4% – 5.0%
Return on capital employed 5.1% – 4.1%
Asset turnover 0.2x – 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x – 1.9x
Stock comp / revenue – – 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDUKNGGXEL
Debt / assets 45.4% 43.2% 44.8%
Debt / equity 1.6x 1.2x 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.3x – 6.0x
Debt / FCF -21.3x – -5.3x
Liabilities / assets 71.7% 63.7% 71.9%
Equity / assets 28.3% 36.3% 28.1%
Interest coverage 2.4x – 1.9x
Current ratio 0.7x 0.8x 0.7x
Quick ratio 0.3x 0.7x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.3x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 0.73 – 0.86

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDUKNGGXEL
Dividend yield 3.3% 3.8% 2.9%
Net buyback yield – – -6.0%
Shareholder yield 3.3% 3.8% -3.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 62.9% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) -79.2% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.6% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.8% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusDUKNGGXEL
Forward P/E 19.6xFY2026 14.4xFY2026 18.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.56FY2026 $5.86FY2026 $4.30FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +4.0%FY2026 +11.4%FY2026 +13.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +15.4% +8.9% +2.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $32.42BFY2026 $25.38BFY2026 $16.60BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.6%FY2026 +6.4%FY2026 +13.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.1% +8.6% +8.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDUKNGGXEL
Held by institutions 69.7% 6.2% 95.4%
Institutions holding 2,461 619 1,287
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.5% +6.6% +7.3%
Institutions buying 1,299 354 665
Institutions selling 802 159 387
Buyers to sellers 1.62 2.23 1.72

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

DUKNGGXEL
DUK 1.00 0.55 0.80
NGG 0.55 1.00 0.52
XEL 0.80 0.52 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DUK, NGG and XEL?

Duke Energy (DUK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Duke Energy (DUK) $100.14B, National Grid (NGG) $87.75B, Xcel Energy (XEL) $50.38B.

Which stock is cheaper, DUK, NGG and XEL?

Xcel Energy (XEL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Duke Energy (DUK) 19.3x, National Grid (NGG) 19.2x, Xcel Energy (XEL) 18.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, National Grid (NGG) is cheapest (Duke Energy (DUK) 19.6x, National Grid (NGG) 14.4x, Xcel Energy (XEL) 18.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Duke Energy (DUK) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Duke Energy (DUK) +6.3%, Xcel Energy (XEL) +4.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Xcel Energy (XEL) has the highest net margin (Duke Energy (DUK) 15.6%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 17.9%). On return on invested capital, Duke Energy (DUK) leads (Duke Energy (DUK) 5.4%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 5.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year National Grid (NGG) returned the most: Duke Energy (DUK) +3.3%, National Grid (NGG) +12.1%, Xcel Energy (XEL) -2.3%. Over five years, National Grid (NGG) compounded fastest (Duke Energy (DUK) +4.6%/yr, National Grid (NGG) +5.4%/yr, Xcel Energy (XEL) +4.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

National Grid (NGG) has the highest dividend yield: Duke Energy (DUK) 3.33%, National Grid (NGG) 3.83%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 2.95%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Duke Energy (DUK) has been the steadiest (Duke Energy (DUK) 16.7%, National Grid (NGG) 22.5%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 19.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, DUK, NGG and XEL?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Duke Energy (DUK) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.