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

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $129.80.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 price objective (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $124.33 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $118.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.88. Duke Energy has a 12-month low of $105.20 and a 12-month high of $127.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap of $96.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.36.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 67.97%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in Duke Energy by 98.1% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

About Duke Energy

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.