Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Sets New 12-Month High at $110.03

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $110.03 and last traded at $109.96, with a volume of 2033682 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $108.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America upped their target price on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.58.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market cap of $84.82 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50-day moving average is $102.89 and its 200 day moving average is $98.48.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,057,253.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. 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.