Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Now Covered by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) in a report issued on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $138.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on DUK. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $116.36.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $116.37 on Thursday. Duke Energy has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $118.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $112.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 69.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 101.2% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Company Profile

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.