** Utility Duke Energy DUK.N on Tuesday beat Wall Street expectations for first-quarter revenue and profit, helped by higher electricity rates, retail sales and a colder winter

** Average recommendation of 21 brokerages is "buy", median PT is $123 - data compiled by LSEG

SURFING THE ENERGY WAVE, BUT WATCHING FOR LEAKS

** BofA Global Research ("neutral", PO: $118) says DUK's 2025 EPS improvement is driven by Electric and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure, helped by customer growth, rate plans and rate cases, while others are impacted by higher interest expense and equity dilution

** Jefferies ("buy", PT: $138) says co is progressing this quarter, though future data center visibility is unclear and co can purchase up to 19 GE Vernova gas turbines to support load growth and resource adequacy

** Mizuho ("outperform", PT: $130) says co's service area is experiencing strong load growth from high residential and commercial demand and believes co is being conservative in its growth forecasts and could find more opportunities to expand its rate base to meet this demand

** Morningstar (fair value: $117) says co's electricity demand is expected to grow faster, increasing by 4% annually starting in 2027, due to strong economic development in its service areas

(Reporting by Akriti Shah in Bengaluru)

((akriti.shah@thomsonreuters.com))