Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Raised to $125.00 at KeyCorp

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price target upped by KeyCorp from $121.00 to $125.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a buy rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $117.07.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of DUK opened at $115.30 on Monday. Duke Energy has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $118.31. The firm has a market cap of $88.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $113.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in Duke Energy by 92.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 171,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,603,000 after purchasing an additional 82,163 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in Duke Energy by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 47,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,620,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Duke Energy by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 87,914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,540 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 46.5% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 10,938 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,061,000 after acquiring an additional 3,472 shares during the period. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 85,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,343,000 after acquiring an additional 7,439 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.