Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Shares Down 0.3%

Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) traded down 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $111.96 and last traded at $112.38. 839,850 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 2,933,909 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.73.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.85.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $106.68 and a 200 day moving average of $100.58. The firm has a market cap of $86.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 105.03%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DUK. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $500,000. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $385,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 84,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,163,000 after purchasing an additional 3,189 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $396,000. Finally, Stanley Laman Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $428,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.