Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $137.5625.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Duke Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. KeyCorp upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $139.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho set a $136.00 target price on Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $133.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 18th.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $114.26 on Friday. Duke Energy has a 1 year low of $113.89 and a 1 year high of $134.49. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.46. The company has a market cap of $89.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.13. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.78% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The firm had revenue of $7.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $1.085 per share. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.17%.

Duke Energy News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Duke Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rising electricity demand from data centers and Duke’s regulated Southern-market operations continue to support the company’s long-term growth outlook. A comparison with Southern Company highlights Duke’s dividend-growth potential, regulated asset base and exposure to expanding power demand. Southern Company or Duke Energy comparison
• Positive Sentiment: Duke said it would double available energy-bill assistance, which may improve customer and regulatory relations, although the program could add near-term costs. Duke Energy doubles energy bill assistance
• Neutral Sentiment: The U.S. Department of Energy ordered Duke to activate backup generation to help stabilize the Carolinas grid and prevent blackouts. The order underscores strong demand and grid-reliability needs, but could increase operating costs and highlight infrastructure constraints. Energy Department backup-power order
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke has been drawing increased investor attention, but the coverage provides no new fundamental catalyst or change to earnings expectations. Duke Energy attracting investor attention
• Negative Sentiment: The North Carolina Utilities Commission denied Duke permission to build a new gas plant. While avoiding construction spending may benefit costs, the decision could delay capacity expansion and complicate Duke’s strategy for meeting rising electricity demand. North Carolina denies Duke gas plant

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,292,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,266,675,000 after purchasing an additional 230,375 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $965,446,000 after purchasing an additional 954,907 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at about $605,680,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 5,254.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,735,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $358,227,000 after buying an additional 2,684,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,678,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $314,250,000 after buying an additional 234,810 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corporation is an electric and natural gas utility holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, with a generation portfolio that includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources. It also operates natural gas distribution businesses and provides related energy services.

Duke Energy’s regulated electric utilities serve residential, commercial and industrial customers across the Carolinas, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.