Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $113.92.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.6 %

DUK opened at $115.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $89.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $108.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.72. Duke Energy has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $116.67. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The business’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 105.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 41.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Waddell & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 3,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 2,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

About Duke Energy

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.