Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $121.85.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $120.76 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $115.00 and its 200 day moving average is $106.67. Duke Energy has a one year low of $85.79 and a one year high of $120.85. The firm has a market cap of $93.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.1% during the second quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.6% during the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Waddell & Associates LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 2.7% in the second quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 3,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

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.