Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Receives $127.25 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $127.25.

DUK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 target price (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,094,327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676,061 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,097,796 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,949,857,000 after purchasing an additional 124,863 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,930,833,000 after purchasing an additional 385,612 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 17,880.0% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,250,133,000 after buying an additional 10,192,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,921,517 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,088,158,000 after buying an additional 418,014 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE DUK traded up $1.35 on Monday, hitting $119.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,217,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,465,383. Duke Energy has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $116.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.14. The firm has a market cap of $93.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. Research analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy's 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.