Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Research Coverage Started at HSBC

HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) in a report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a hold rating and a $123.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $146.00 to $131.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.19.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $125.11 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $118.87 and a 200-day moving average of $123.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $97.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.36. Duke Energy has a 52-week low of $112.40 and a 52-week high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.13. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.78% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The business had revenue of $7.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a $1.0850 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 65.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% in the second quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. now owns 6,623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $838,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Sharp Wealth Advisory LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 4.5% during the first quarter. Sharp Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 2.3% during the first quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC now owns 12,551 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walker Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC now owns 4,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $651,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corporation is an energy holding company that provides regulated electric and natural gas utility services in the United States. Its electric utilities generate, transmit, distribute and sell electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and other customers. The company’s generation portfolio includes nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources.

Duke Energy serves customers primarily in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.