Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) in a report issued on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $138.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $116.36.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.1 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $116.37 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $112.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.97. Duke Energy has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $118.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.24, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The company’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This is a boost 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 3.59%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

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.