Rate Cut Buzz Grows: Are These ETFs Gearing Up For A Fed Pivot?
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Aug 07 2025
0mins
Source: Benzinga
Market Shift to Defensive Sectors: As the U.S. labor market shows signs of weakness and discussions about rate cuts increase, investors are moving towards stable sectors like consumer staples, utilities, and real estate, with ETFs in these areas gaining popularity.
Fed's Cautious Stance on Rate Cuts: Recent comments from Fed officials highlight concerns over slowing job growth and inflation trends, suggesting that while core inflation is cooling, a policy shift may occur if economic conditions worsen, potentially benefiting defensive sector ETFs.
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Analyst Views on DUK
Wall Street analysts forecast DUK stock price to rise
13 Analyst Rating
8 Buy
5 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 125.200
Low
126.00
Averages
136.31
High
150.00
Current: 125.200
Low
126.00
Averages
136.31
High
150.00
About DUK
Duke Energy Corporation is an energy holding company. The Company operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I) and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment conducts operations primarily through the regulated public utilities of Duke Energy Carolinas, Duke Energy Progress, Duke Energy Florida, Duke Energy Indiana and Duke Energy Ohio. EU&I provides retail electric service through the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity to customers within the Southeast and Midwest regions of the United States. The GU&I segment conducts natural gas operations primarily through the regulated public utilities of Piedmont, Duke Energy Ohio, and Duke Energy Kentucky. GU&I serves residential, commercial, industrial, and power generation natural gas customers, including customers served by municipalities who are wholesale customers. It also purchases a diverse portfolio of transportation and storage services from interstate pipelines.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Capital Plan Expansion: The company increased its five-year capital plan to $103 billion, up by $16 billion, focusing on critical energy infrastructure investments to meet rising load demands and solidify its market leadership.
- Optimistic Future Outlook: Management introduced 2026 earnings guidance of $6.55 to $6.80 per share, maintaining a long-term EPS growth rate of 5% to 7%, indicating confidence in future performance, particularly as data center load growth accelerates.
- Successful Strategic Transactions: Duke Energy completed two strategic transactions over the past year, enhancing its credit profile, and successfully recovered nearly $3 billion in storm costs through collaboration with regulators, further strengthening its financial stability.
See More
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- AI Technology Deployment: Duke Energy is enhancing customer safety by deploying artificial intelligence to scan websites, social media, and paid ads for scams targeting energy customers, thereby reducing potential financial losses.
- Commitment to Customer Protection: Senior Vice President Jessica Bishop emphasizes that as scams become more sophisticated, Duke Energy is dedicated to safeguarding customers from bad actors, ensuring a secure and trustworthy platform for managing energy accounts.
- Scam Red Flags: The company warns customers to be vigilant for signs of scams, such as demands for immediate payment, threats of service cutoff, or insistence on prepaid cards or cryptocurrency, all of which are payment methods Duke Energy does not accept.
- Energy Transition Strategy: As one of America's largest energy holding companies, Duke Energy is executing an ambitious energy transition by investing in electric grid upgrades and cleaner energy sources, ensuring customer reliability and value while advancing towards a smarter energy future.
See More
Duke Energy Deploys AI to Combat Scams Targeting Customers
- AI Technology Deployment: Duke Energy is enhancing customer safety by deploying artificial intelligence to proactively scan websites, social media, and paid ads for scams targeting energy customers, thereby reducing fraud risk and improving security.
- Scam Detection Example: The AI tool recently identified and removed a paid search ad impersonating Duke Energy with a fake customer service number, demonstrating the company's effectiveness in combating fraudulent schemes.
- Seasonal Scam Spike: In 2025, Duke Energy received thousands of scam reports across its service areas, with a notable increase in February when many customers seek bill assistance, highlighting the urgency of the company's protective measures.
- Customer Protection Guidance: Duke Energy advises customers to slow down when receiving urgent payment requests, verify information using official channels, and report suspected scams, ensuring they can effectively protect themselves against fraud.
See More
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- Technical Analysis Tool: Comparing the current share price to the 200-day moving average provides valuable insights for investors, helping to assess potential price trend changes.
- ETF Trading Mechanism: Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) operate like stocks, where investors buy and sell 'units' that can be created or destroyed based on demand, impacting liquidity and market performance.
- Inflows and Outflows Monitoring: Weekly monitoring of changes in shares outstanding for ETFs highlights significant inflows (new units created) or outflows (old units destroyed), which can affect the performance of individual stocks held within the ETFs.
See More
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- AI Technology Deployment: Duke Energy is enhancing customer safety by deploying artificial intelligence to proactively scan websites, social media, and paid ads for scams targeting energy customers, thereby protecting communities from fraudulent schemes.
- Scam Detection Examples: The AI tool successfully identified and removed a paid search ad impersonating Duke Energy with a bogus customer service number, demonstrating the company's effectiveness and responsiveness in combating scams.
- Seasonal Scam Spike: In 2025, Duke Energy received thousands of scam reports across its service areas, with a notable increase in February when many customers seek bill assistance, highlighting the urgency for enhanced customer protection measures.
- Customer Protection Guidance: Duke Energy advises customers to slow down when faced with urgent payment requests, verify using official channels, and report suspicious activities through the company's Scam Reporting Tool and other resources, thereby increasing customer awareness and prevention capabilities.
See More
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- Executive Appointment: Consumers Energy has announced the appointment of Marlon Merritt as Vice President of Supply Chain, effective February 16, aiming to leverage his extensive industry experience to drive strategic development in the company's supply chain.
- Leadership Background: Marlon previously served as Chief Supply Chain Officer at TC Energy and held several key positions at Entergy, accumulating over 20 years of leadership experience in the energy sector, which is expected to bring new perspectives and innovations to Consumers Energy.
- Team Building Expertise: Known for developing high-performing teams, Marlon has driven transformational growth in both domestic and international roles, which is anticipated to enhance Consumers Energy's supply chain efficiency and overall operational capabilities.
- Market Position: As Michigan's largest energy provider, Consumers Energy supplies natural gas and electricity to 6.8 million residents, and Marlon's addition is expected to further solidify the company's leadership position in the market.
See More
