Brokerages Set Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) PT at $121.85

Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $121.85.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of DUK opened at $120.57 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $115.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $93.05 billion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy has a fifty-two week low of $86.61 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 35.0% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 50,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,834,000 after purchasing an additional 13,056 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $297,000. Convergence Financial LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 16.6% during the third quarter. Convergence Financial LLC now owns 10,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 1,538 shares during the period. BayBridge Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $1,245,000. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 3.5% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 6,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $741,000 after acquiring an additional 215 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.