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

Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $126.00.

DUK has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bcwm LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $9,815,000. Bailard Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,439,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139 shares during the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,705 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,852,000 after purchasing an additional 7,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Business Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $384,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $120.31 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $119.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $93.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy has a one year low of $99.21 and a one year high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.32%.

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.