Analysts Set Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Price Target at $123.87

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $126.00.

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DUK. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth $27,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE DUK opened at $120.31 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy has a twelve month low of $99.21 and a twelve month high of $125.27. The company has a market cap of $93.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s fifty day moving average is $119.48 and its 200 day moving average is $114.57.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results 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 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.