Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Increased to $100.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective increased by Barclays from $99.00 to $100.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $100.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Duke Energy from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $101.17.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $95.93 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.24. Duke Energy has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $100.39.

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

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Duke Energy by 4.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,030,865,000 after buying an additional 1,002,157 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,141,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,081,125,000 after purchasing an additional 509,039 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.9% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,468,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $923,907,000 after purchasing an additional 492,011 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,635,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $864,652,000 after acquiring an additional 257,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,515,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $799,599,000 after purchasing an additional 842,458 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.