Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Hits New 52-Week High at $110.03

Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $110.03 and last traded at $109.96, with a volume of 2033682 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $108.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.58.

Duke Energy Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $84.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $102.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.48.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total value of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total value of $1,027,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at $7,057,253.03. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Howard Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $219,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 2,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 435,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,084,000 after acquiring an additional 13,406 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 57.8% in 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. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 182.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 39,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,786,000 after purchasing an additional 25,203 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.