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

Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $116.79.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 101.2% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.7 %

DUK stock opened at $115.97 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $113.50 and a 200 day moving average of $104.64. The firm has a market cap of $89.50 billion, a PE ratio of 29.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $118.31. 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 announced 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 company had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 105.03%.

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.