Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Raised to $132.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective raised by Jefferies Financial Group from $129.00 to $132.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on DUK. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $115.58 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $89.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.24, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. On average, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.20%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,705 shares during the period. Pines Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $1,032,000. CCM Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,008,000 after purchasing an additional 16,356 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Duke Energy by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,941,000 after purchasing an additional 9,070 shares during the period. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $1,566,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Company Profile

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.