Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Raised to $120.00

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $114.00 to $120.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

DUK has been the subject of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a buy rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $116.79.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $115.97 on Wednesday. Duke Energy has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $118.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $89.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.64.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. Analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 yield of 3.60%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 69.6% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 101.2% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.