Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Raised to $126.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price target increased by BMO Capital Markets from $120.00 to $126.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $116.36.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $116.37 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.24, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $112.55 and a 200 day moving average of $103.90. Duke Energy has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $118.31.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $557,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,907,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $12,749,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,386 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.