Duke Energy Co. (DUK) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.05 on December 16th

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, October 7th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of 1.045 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, December 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th.

Duke Energy has raised its dividend payment by an average of 2.1% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 20 years. Duke Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 65.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Duke Energy to earn $6.34 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.18 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 65.9%.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $111.89 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. Duke Energy has a 52-week low of $86.61 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $115.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased 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 lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Six investment 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

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.