Duke Energy ( NYSE: DUK ) -0.9% in Thursday's trading after narrowly beating Q2 adjusted earnings estimates and saying it has launched a strategic review of its commercial renewables business for a potential sale or spinoff.
CEO Lynn Good said during the company's earnings conference call that she expects "a robust market for these assets, given that it's not only operating assets, but also the development pipeline."
A sale of Duke's ( DUK ) ~$4B solar and wind portfolio would be one of the biggest-ever U.S. renewable sales, Bloomberg said, although the unit represents less than 5% of the company's consolidated earnings, according to its earnings presentation .
Credit Suisse analysts see Duke's ( DUK ) move to a more regulated earnings profile sooner than expected as a positive, adding that "there are now numerous utilities working to divest renewable portfolios."
If sold, most of the proceeds would be used for debt repayment and avoidance, the company said.
Duke Energy's ( DUK ) stock price return shows a 6% YTD gain and a 3% increase during the past year .
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Duke Energy eyes sale of $4B commercial wind and solar business