Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Increased to $120.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $114.00 to $120.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on DUK. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of 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. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Six research 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, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $106.75.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of DUK stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $113.55. 1,618,144 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,952,754. Duke Energy has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $116.67. The company has a market cap of $87.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $104.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.19.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. 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. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Duke Energy news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4 shares in the company, valued at approximately $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 2.1% during the second quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 41.9% during the second 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. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 1.6% during the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 2.7% during the second quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 3,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.9% in the second quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 2,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

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.