Brokerages Set Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Price Target at $123.87

Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $126.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim raised their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup raised their price target on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays raised their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 360.0% in the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $113.12 on Wednesday. Duke Energy has a 52-week low of $99.21 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The business’s fifty day moving average is $119.45 and its 200 day moving average is $114.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $87.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.81, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. Research analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.32%.

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.