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

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective lowered by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $101.00 to $99.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price indicates a potential upside of 6.59% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. 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. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.17.

Duke Energy Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded down $1.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $92.88. The stock had a trading volume of 389,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,992,966. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $94.06 and its 200-day moving average is $93.18. Duke Energy has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $100.39. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 47,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,276,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 29.5% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 2,223 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 447.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.2% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

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.