Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Lowered to $118.00 at Morgan Stanley

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its target price dropped by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $118.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target suggests a potential upside of 2.55% from the stock’s current price.

DUK has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.69.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock traded up $0.21 on Friday, reaching $115.07. 718,831 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,064,210. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.89 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy has a 12 month low of $89.92 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $115.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,520,000 after buying an additional 9,334 shares during the period. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,888,000. PrairieView Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $501,000. Marshall Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 158.9% in the third quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 8,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 5,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,203,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $116,431,000 after buying an additional 16,735 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.