Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $121.46 and last traded at $121.14, with a volume of 1355755 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $120.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.93.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.0 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,852,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,097,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,949,857,000 after purchasing an additional 124,863 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,930,833,000 after purchasing an additional 385,612 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $922,529,000 after acquiring an additional 135,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Duke Energy by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,503,503 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $916,168,000 after acquiring an additional 357,967 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.