Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Receives “Outperform” Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their outperform rating on shares of Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $135.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $113.92.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $112.99 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50. Duke Energy has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $116.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $107.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.03.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 105.03%.

Insider Activity

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $500,000. Certuity LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 3,268 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its position in Duke Energy by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 14,745 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 3,486 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 10,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.