Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Duke Energy has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 17 research firms, with nine buy ratings and eight holds. The average 12-month price target is about $138.33.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.93 versus estimates of $1.87 and revenue of $9.18 billion versus $8.44 billion expected. Revenue rose 11.3% year over year.
• Duke Energy also continues to offer income investors a meaningful payout, with a quarterly dividend of $1.065, equal to an annualized yield of about 3.3%. Insider selling by the CEO was also disclosed in recent filings.

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the seventeen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $138.3333.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on DUK shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Evercore increased their target price on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $129.44 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $100.91 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82 and a beta of 0.38. The company's fifty day moving average price is $125.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.84. Duke Energy has a one year low of $113.89 and a one year high of $134.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. Duke Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy will post 6.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total transaction of $2,487,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. This represents a 17.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $438,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of DUK. Basso Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Dorato Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1,111.1% during the 4th quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 218 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 68.6% during the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 231 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Company Profile

Duke Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based electric power holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company's core business is the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Duke Energy operates a mix of regulated electric utilities and non-regulated energy businesses, providing essential energy infrastructure and services across multiple states.

Its operating activities include owning and operating generation assets across a portfolio that encompasses nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and an expanding array of renewable resources, as well as battery storage and grid modernization projects.

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