Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $122.39 and last traded at $121.00, with a volume of 573513 shares. The stock had previously closed at $119.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $94.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.75.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. United Bank raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $210,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 173,616.7% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 41,692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,807,000 after purchasing an additional 41,668 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $2,261,000. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 59.2% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 23,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,697,000 after purchasing an additional 8,699 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.