Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $120.39, but opened at $123.00. Duke Energy shares last traded at $124.23, with a volume of 4,135,379 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $92.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 73.20%.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Bcwm LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,815,000. Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139 shares in the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after acquiring an additional 2,705 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,852,000 after purchasing an additional 7,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Business Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $384,000. 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.