Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUKGet Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $122.93.

Several research firms recently issued reports on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of 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 target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on DUK

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $2,537,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $163,819,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 155.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 116.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $222,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,581 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $120.88 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.52. Duke Energy has a 1 year low of $92.75 and a 1 year high of $121.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUKGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

About Duke Energy

(Get Free Report

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.

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Analyst Recommendations for Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK)

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