Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Raises Dividend to $1.07 Per Share

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 15th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of 1.065 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a 1.9% increase from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05.

Duke Energy has a payout ratio of 62.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Duke Energy to earn $6.73 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.18 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 62.1%.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $0.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $118.39. 2,475,586 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,465,106. Duke Energy has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.02 billion, a PE ratio of 19.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.77. The business's fifty day moving average price is $116.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.02.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. Duke Energy's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Duke Energy stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on DUK. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 target price (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $127.25.

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.