Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Receives $121.69 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $121.69.

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $111.14 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $114.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $85.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.42, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year 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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $2,888,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 59.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 23,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,697,000 after acquiring an additional 8,699 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.9% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 269,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,041,000 after purchasing an additional 15,069 shares during the period. PrairieView Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at $501,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its stake in Duke Energy by 1,258.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 49,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,689,000 after purchasing an additional 45,708 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.