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

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $121.85.

Several brokerages have commented on DUK. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $120.57 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $115.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.25. Duke Energy has a 52 week low of $86.61 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Duke Energy will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 435,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,084,000 after purchasing an additional 13,406 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 27,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 9,917 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 63.8% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 44,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,324,000 after purchasing an additional 17,420 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,520,000 after purchasing an additional 9,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $2,888,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.