Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $121.69.

Several research analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America increased their target price on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sachetta LLC grew 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 worth $36,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 100.0% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $112.10 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $114.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.59. The company has a market capitalization of $86.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy will post 5.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 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.