Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Sets New 12-Month High at $103.83

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $103.83 and last traded at $103.53, with a volume of 252999 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $102.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI upgraded Duke Energy from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $101.31.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.69. The company has a market capitalization of $79.41 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. Duke Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $1.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 12.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 32,675 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,884,000 after purchasing an additional 3,502 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 39.1% during the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 5,949 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 1,671 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 21.8% during the third quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,389 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $829,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Duke Energy by 1.1% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 309,098 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,281,000 after buying an additional 3,263 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Duke Energy by 0.7% during the third quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 44,604 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,937,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.