Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Upgraded at BTIG Research

BTIG Research upgraded shares of Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.36.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $127.41 on Wednesday. Duke Energy has a fifty-two week low of $105.20 and a fifty-two week high of $130.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $123.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.44. The company has a market cap of $99.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The business had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. Analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 69.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,438,843.04. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,636 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,663,000 after buying an additional 2,061 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Advisors MI acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $211,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $249,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 7,167 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $874,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.