Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $121.62.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,852,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,097,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,949,857,000 after buying an additional 124,863 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,930,833,000 after buying an additional 385,612 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $922,529,000 after acquiring an additional 135,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,503,503 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $916,168,000 after acquiring an additional 357,967 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $116.03 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.20%.

About Duke Energy

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.