Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) PT Raised to $125.00 at KeyCorp

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective increased by KeyCorp from $121.00 to $125.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

DUK has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $118.21.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $115.76 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $89.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.46. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $114.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.16. Duke Energy has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $118.31.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,835,047,000 after buying an additional 324,289 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,111,521,000 after acquiring an additional 352,320 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $247,672,000 after purchasing an additional 40,243 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 65.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $205,769,000 after purchasing an additional 813,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,973,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $190,845,000 after purchasing an additional 31,309 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

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.