Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Raised to $108.00

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price target raised by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from $104.00 to $108.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, 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 5.39% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on DUK. Barclays lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI upgraded Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.31.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $102.48. The company had a trading volume of 958,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,006,679. 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 $102.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 295,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,082,000 after purchasing an additional 4,590 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 31.2% in the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 31,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,744,000 after buying an additional 7,391 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.7% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,333 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,938 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 9,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.