Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Receives Neutral Rating from UBS Group

UBS Group reissued their neutral rating on shares of Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $127.00 price target on the utilities provider's stock, up from their prior price target of $124.00.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on DUK. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $126.88.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $0.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $117.96. The company had a trading volume of 2,684,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,474,846. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.77. Duke Energy has a 12 month low of $104.02 and a 12 month high of $125.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 69.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in Duke Energy by 98.1% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 212 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

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.