Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $138.3333.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $129.44 on Monday. Duke Energy has a 52-week low of $113.89 and a 52-week high of $134.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.82 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $125.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.84.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.The company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 65.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was 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 directly owned 96,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,952,205.74. The trade was a 17.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $438,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,680,087.25. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Basso Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Dorato Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1,111.1% during the fourth quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management raised its stake in Duke Energy by 68.6% in the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Company Profile

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.