Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) PT Lowered to $99.00

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its target price dropped by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from $101.00 to $99.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective points to a potential upside of 4.76% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently commented on DUK. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Evercore ISI raised Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.17.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $94.50 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $72.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74. Duke Energy has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $100.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $94.00 and a 200-day moving average of $93.22.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 28.6% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,023 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 894 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 25,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,545,000 after buying an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,691,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the period. Finally, Adviser Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $304,000. 65.31% of the stock is 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.