Brokerages Set Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Target Price at $122.23

Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $122.23.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. PBMares Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% in the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $107.78 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. 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 has a 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $111.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 5.95 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.