Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Raised to $125.00

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its target price increased by KeyCorp from $121.00 to $125.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a buy rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $118.21.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $116.66 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Duke Energy has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $118.31. The company’s 50 day moving average is $113.99 and its 200 day moving average is $105.08. The company has a market cap of $90.03 billion, a PE ratio of 29.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 435,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,084,000 after buying an additional 13,406 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP increased its stake in Duke Energy by 57.8% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 27,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 9,917 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in Duke Energy by 63.8% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 44,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,324,000 after purchasing an additional 17,420 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $254,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,520,000 after purchasing an additional 9,334 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.