S&P upgrades Duke Energy

Standard & Poor’s said it raised the issuer credit ratings on Duke Energy Corp. and subsidiaries to A- from BBB+.

The outlook is stable.

The agency also said it raised the senior unsecured ratings and preferred stock ratings and affirmed the secured debt ratings and short-term ratings on the companies.

Duke said it plans to use the proceeds of a recent asset sale for debt reduction, stock repurchases and reinvestment in its domestic utilities in a manner that preserves credit measures, S&P said.

The upgrade reflects a view that Duke’s exit from the U.S. merchant generation and attendant retail marketing business improves its business risk profile by removing considerable competitive market price risk from its operations, which were a source of earnings and cash-flow volatility, the agency said.

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