Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Cut to Sector Weight at KeyCorp

KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) from an overweight rating to a sector weight rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Duke Energy’s Q3 2024 earnings at $1.68 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $1.60 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $5.98 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $6.34 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $7.13 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $7.62 EPS.

DUK has been the subject of several other research reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $117.21 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $90.46 billion, a PE ratio of 29.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50 day moving average of $115.51 and a 200 day moving average of $107.33. Duke Energy has a 52 week low of $86.61 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 41.9% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in 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.