Brokerages Set Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Target Price at $121.69

Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $121.69.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $111.14 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market cap of $85.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy has a fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Sachetta LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 41.9% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 100.0% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 167 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.