Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Given New $141.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $136.00 to $141.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Evercore boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $139.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $136.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.67.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $125.99 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. Duke Energy has a 1 year low of $113.89 and a 1 year high of $134.49. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.42. The firm has a market cap of $98.22 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29 and a beta of 0.38.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.The business had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $1.085 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $438,025.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,680,087.25. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total transaction of $2,487,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. This represents a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,172,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957,592 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,292,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,266,675,000 after buying an additional 230,375 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,931,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,046,818,000 after acquiring an additional 58,375 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $965,446,000 after acquiring an additional 954,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,758,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $960,139,000 after acquiring an additional 31,703 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Duke Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Duke Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy boosted its quarterly dividend to $1.085 per share, a 1.9% increase from the prior payout, reinforcing its appeal as an income stock. PR Newswire dividend/program article
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Duke Energy to $141 from $136, signaling continued confidence in the stock’s valuation and a modest upside from current levels. Benzinga price target article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to point to solid growth prospects, with recent commentary highlighting Duke’s contracted load and longer-term growth plan as credible support for earnings. Seeking Alpha contracted load article
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke Energy Florida said its EnergyWise Home program can provide customer bill credits with minimal effort, which is supportive of customer relations but not a major earnings driver. Yahoo Finance EnergyWise Home article
• Neutral Sentiment: Clearwater is set to vote on a 30-year Duke Energy deal, which could help preserve the utility’s local footprint but is still pending. Clearwater vote article
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina’s attorney general is challenging Duke Energy Progress rate hikes, adding regulatory pressure and uncertainty around future revenue growth. Attorney general challenge article
• Negative Sentiment: Another report said the attorney general is seeking to block nearly $1 billion in Duke Energy rate hikes over the next two years, reinforcing the regulatory overhang. Yahoo News rate hikes article
• Negative Sentiment: A Greensboro outage affecting thousands of customers highlights ongoing operational reliability issues, though the number of impacted customers has since been cut roughly in half. Greensboro outage article

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based electric power holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company’s core business is the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Duke Energy operates a mix of regulated electric utilities and non-regulated energy businesses, providing essential energy infrastructure and services across multiple states.

Its operating activities include owning and operating generation assets across a portfolio that encompasses nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and an expanding array of renewable resources, as well as battery storage and grid modernization projects.