Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $123.87.

Several research firms have commented on DUK. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Prostatis Group LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Prostatis Group LLC now owns 3,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. 111 Capital acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $491,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 175,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,871,000 after buying an additional 1,173 shares in the last quarter. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $718,000. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,409 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $119.01 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $92.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s 50-day moving average is $114.16 and its 200 day moving average is $113.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy has a 12 month low of $92.75 and a 12 month high of $121.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 73.20%.

Duke Energy Company Profile

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest.