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

Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $121.85.

Several brokerages have recently commented on DUK. Bank of America raised their target price on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays raised their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 935,539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $90,251,000 after acquiring an additional 100,496 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 908,285 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $87,840,000 after purchasing an additional 137,778 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $204,000. Finally, TBH Global Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of DUK stock opened at $113.59 on Wednesday. Duke Energy has a 1 year low of $88.27 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The stock has a market cap of $87.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s fifty day moving average is $115.26 and its 200-day moving average is $109.53. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

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.