Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $127.25.

Several research analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bcwm LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $9,815,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 212.8% in the 4th quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 79,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,618,000 after purchasing an additional 54,413 shares during the last quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 338.6% in the 1st quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 37,763 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,606,000 after purchasing an additional 29,153 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 291,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,575,000 after purchasing an additional 20,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 127,419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,451,000 after purchasing an additional 11,445 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $118.39 on Monday. Duke Energy has a 12 month low of $105.20 and a 12 month high of $125.27. The stock has a market cap of $92.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $116.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $116.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.065 per share. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy’s 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.