JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target to $120.00

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $111.00 to $120.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays upped their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Duke Energy from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $110.15.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $113.12 on Monday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.90. The company has a market cap of $87.30 billion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $116.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The business’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy 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 given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.03%.

Insider Activity

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DUK. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 21,866 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 8,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $819,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 523,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,789,000 after acquiring an additional 77,770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keel Point LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $217,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.