Analysts Set Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Target Price at $121.85

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $121.85.

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,520,000 after acquiring an additional 9,334 shares during the period. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,888,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,396,000. PrairieView Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $501,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 362.7% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 27,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,664,000 after acquiring an additional 21,590 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $113.59 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $87.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $115.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.53. Duke Energy has a 52-week low of $88.27 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.84%.

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.