Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $1.05

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, October 7th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of 1.045 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, December 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th.

Duke Energy has increased its dividend payment by an average of 2.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 20 years. Duke Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 65.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Duke Energy to earn $6.34 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.18 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 65.9%.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $111.89 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $115.81 and a 200 day moving average of $108.97. 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 twelve month low of $86.61 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The firm has a market cap of $86.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

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.