Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $139.0667.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DUK. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $141.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Thursday. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $141.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Evercore boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th.

Trending Headlines about Duke Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Duke Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy is being viewed as a potential beneficiary of surging power demand from data centers, which could support future generation growth and regulated utility investment opportunities. Why Duke Energy (DUK) Is Becoming a Data Center Power Demand Play
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reiterated its bullish view by keeping Duke Energy on its Conviction List and assigning a $132 target, signaling confidence in regulatory progress and the company’s expansion plans. Why Duke Energy (DUK) Is Becoming a Data Center Power Demand Play
• Positive Sentiment: Utility-sector demand tailwinds linked to AI infrastructure are also supporting sentiment toward Duke Energy and other dividend-paying utilities. These 3 Utility Stocks Have Been Paying Dividends for Decades and AI Data Centers Just Made Them More Valuable
• Neutral Sentiment: North Carolina lawmakers moved to require approval for replacement nuclear capacity before Duke can retire coal plants, which could slow the company’s transition plans but may also protect near-term generation reliability and earnings visibility. North Carolina lawmakers just moved to block Duke Energy from closing coal plants until new nuclear is approved to replace every lost megawatt
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley cut its price target on Duke Energy to $132 from $141 while maintaining an Equalweight rating, a modestly softer analyst signal but still above the recent share price. Morgan Stanley adjusts price target on Duke Energy to 132 from 141
• Neutral Sentiment: Other items, including local outage and customer-service updates, appear operational in nature and are unlikely to materially affect the stock. Power restored for Duke Energy customers in Sullivan County

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $125.78 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $128.24 and a 200-day moving average of $124.02. Duke Energy has a 12-month low of $113.39 and a 12-month high of $134.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The company has a market cap of $98.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26 and a beta of 0.41.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 6.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 65.24%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total value of $2,487,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,952,205.74. The trade was a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total value of $123,001.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $498,142.56. This trade represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 24,462 shares of company stock valued at $3,048,426 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Basso Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Dorato Capital Management acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 1,111.1% in the 4th quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 68.6% in the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Company Profile

Duke Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based electric power holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company’s core business is the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Duke Energy operates a mix of regulated electric utilities and non-regulated energy businesses, providing essential energy infrastructure and services across multiple states.

Its operating activities include owning and operating generation assets across a portfolio that encompasses nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and an expanding array of renewable resources, as well as battery storage and grid modernization projects.