Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) PT Raised to $121.00

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its target price upped by KeyCorp from $117.00 to $121.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $116.36.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $115.14 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $88.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.66. Duke Energy has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $118.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The company 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 109.4% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 7,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $222,000. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 26,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,608,000 after acquiring an additional 1,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 5,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 1,011 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.