Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) PT Lowered to $94.00

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective decreased by equities research analysts at Scotiabank from $101.00 to $94.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Scotiabank’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 4.28% from the company’s current price.

DUK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.62.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $98.20 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $94.44 and its 200-day moving average is $93.60. The firm has a market cap of $75.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $100.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DUK. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,030,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,157 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 9,164.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 979,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $95,031,000 after purchasing an additional 968,723 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,515,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $799,599,000 after buying an additional 842,458 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Duke Energy by 242.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,044,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $101,348,000 after buying an additional 739,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,205,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $635,952,000 after buying an additional 715,069 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Duke Energy

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.