Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Receives $121.85 Average Target Price from Analysts

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $121.85.

DUK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DUK. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 69.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $29,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 101.2% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $112.16 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. Duke Energy has a 52 week low of $88.27 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The firm has a market cap of $86.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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 given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

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.