Stock Update: Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK) – Duke Energy announces closing of public offering of common stock in connection with its pending acquisition of Piedmont Natural Gas

[PR Newswire] – CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Duke Energy Corporation (DUK) (“Duke”) announced today the closing of its underwritten public offering of 10,637,500 shares of its common stock in connection with the forward sale agreement (as discussed below), which included the underwriter’s full exercise of its option to purchase up to 1,387,500 additional shares of Duke’s common stock. In connection with the offering, Duke entered into forward sale agreements with an affiliate of Barclays Capital Inc. (the “forward counterparty”) under which Duke agreed to issue and sell to the forward counterparty (subject to Duke’s right to cash settle or net share settle the forward sale agreement) 10,637,500 shares of its common stock at the public offering price, less discounts and commissions, and subject to certain adjustments. Read more on this. Duke Energy Corporation (DUK) , valued at $52.46B, opened at $75.00. During the trading session, DUK traded between $74.82 to $76.26 with its 52-week range being $65.50 to $80.10. DUK shares are currently priced at 16.24x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 16.18x earnings multiple for the same period. The company pays shareholders $3.30 per share annually in dividends, yielding 4.39%. According to a consensus of 7 analysts, the earnings estimate of $1.18 per share would be $0.06 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.02 sequential increase. Furthermore, our analysis shows the full-year EPS estimate to be $4.63, which would be a $0.09 better when compared to the last year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is based on a consensus revenue forecast of the current quarter of $6.01 Billion. If realized, that would be a 0.83% decrease over the year-ago quarter. More recently, JP Morgan downgraded DUK from Overweight to Neutral (Feb 19, 2016). Previously, Wells Fargo downgraded DUK from Outperform to Market Perform. Investors should keep in mind is that the average price target is $77.08, which is 2.77% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:DUK) Similar Articles: Company Update (NYSE:DUK): Duke Energy announces pricing of common stock offering in connection with its pending acquisition of Piedmont Natural Gas Stock Update: Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK) – Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas file with North Carolina Utilities Commission for acquisition approval Market Update: Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK) – SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP Notifies Shareholders of Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. of Commencement of an Investigation Concerning the Fairness of the Sale of the Company to Duke Energy Corp. — PNY