Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock from $117.00 to $121.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Duke Energy traded as high as $118.25 and last traded at $117.93, with a volume of 271280 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $117.31.

DUK has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.23.

Insider Activity 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 company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter worth about $557,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $1,907,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter worth about $12,749,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 9.0% in the second quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,386 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a market cap of $90.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.12. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm’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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.