Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Given New $112.00 Price Target at KeyCorp

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective raised by KeyCorp from $107.00 to $112.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Duke Energy from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $101.85.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $101.83 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $98.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.59 billion, a PE ratio of 25.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $104.60.

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 business had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.025 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.03%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4 shares in the company, valued at approximately $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,835,047,000 after purchasing an additional 324,289 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Duke Energy by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,030,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,157 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in 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 period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Duke Energy by 4.9% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,468,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $923,907,000 after acquiring an additional 492,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,515,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $799,599,000 after purchasing an additional 842,458 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.