Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

by · The Markets Daily

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

DUK has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $116.36.

View Our Latest Analysis on Duke Energy

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE DUK opened at $116.37 on Thursday. Duke Energy has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $118.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $112.55 and a 200-day moving average of $103.90. The company has a market cap of $89.81 billion, a PE ratio of 29.24, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 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 company 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 firm posted $0.91 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 65.7% in 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. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its position in Duke Energy by 9,923.0% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 769,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,103,000 after acquiring an additional 761,590 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Duke Energy by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,141,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,081,125,000 after acquiring an additional 509,039 shares in the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $41,874,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 96.1% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 789,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,529,000 after purchasing an additional 387,038 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Duke Energy

(Get Free Report)

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.

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