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

Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $121.85.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.3 %

DUK opened at $112.17 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.62, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.33. Duke Energy has a 1-year low of $88.27 and a 1-year high of $121.25.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,835,047,000 after acquiring an additional 324,289 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,016,846,000 after purchasing an additional 442,302 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,111,521,000 after acquiring an additional 352,320 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $781,500,000 after purchasing an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,672,000 after acquiring an additional 40,243 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.