Wednesday, March 16, 2022
 

The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Morgan Stanley (MS), PetroChina Company Ltd. (PTR) and Duke Energy Corp. (DUK). These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.
 

You can see all of today’s research reports here >>>
 

Shares of Morgan Stanley have outperformed the Zacks Financial - Investment Bank industry over the past year (+3.0% vs. -3.8%). The Zacks analyst believes that the company has been continuously making efforts to focus less on the capital markets-driven revenue sources. The acquisitions of Eaton Vance and E*Trade Financial are a step in this direction. Increased focus on corporate lending will keep supporting financials in the quarters ahead.
 

Also, the company’s robust capital deployment activities reflect a solid liquidity position, through which it will enhance shareholder value. However, elevated expenses due to investments in franchise will likely hurt profits. Relatively lower interest rates and uncertainty about the performance of the capital markets make us apprehensive.
 

(You can read the full research report on Morgan Stanley here >>>)
 

Shares of PetroChina have underperformed the Zacks Oil and Gas - Integrated – International industry over the past year (+14.2% vs. +26.8%), although higher oil prices are expected to support the state-run giant's upstream unit in the near-to-medium term, per the Zacks analyst. As is evident from the nine-month results, PetroChina's exploration & production segment has been benefiting from the stunning turnaround in commodity prices.
 

However, the historic oil price crash of 2020 hit PetroChina hard even as the volatility in commodity swings make things challenging for the company. Investors are also worried over PetroChina’s limited progress in expanding its international exposure and its weak oil production growth prospects.
 

(You can read the full research report on PetroChina here >>>)
 

Shares of Duke Energy have outperformed the Zacks Utility - Electric Power industry over the past year (+16.2% vs. +8.3%). Duke Energy is a premier utility service provider that invests heavily in infrastructure and expansion projects.

During the 2022-2026 period, the company projects to spend the capital of $63 billion while $130 billion over the next decade. It has lowered its carbon emissions by 44% since 2005 and aims at electrifying all its light-duty vehicles by 2030. Renewables are projected to be Duke Energy’s largest source of energy by 2050.
 

However, the Zacks analyst believes that the company’s ability to achieve a net-zero target by 2050 at a cost-effective price could be at risk due to higher technological resources prices. Also fluctuating energy prices may impact Duke Energy’s results.
 

(You can read the full research report on Duke Energy here >>>)
 

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (ORLY), Fox Corp. (FOXA) and The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV).
 

Mark Vickery
Senior Editor

Note: Sheraz Mian heads the Zacks Equity Research department and is a well-regarded expert of aggregate earnings. He is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media and publishes the weekly Earnings Trends and Earnings Preview reports. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here>>>