Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Raised to $139.00

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price target upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $138.00 to $139.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 8.04% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on DUK. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Duke Energy from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Evercore reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $139.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.20.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE DUK opened at $128.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.55. Duke Energy has a one year low of $111.22 and a one year high of $134.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.39 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.01. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.66% and a net margin of 15.41%.The business had revenue of $7.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total transaction of $868,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 22,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,809,633.69. The trade was a 23.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total value of $123,001.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,142.56. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,172,709,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957,592 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,292,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,266,675,000 after purchasing an additional 230,375 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,931,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,046,818,000 after buying an additional 58,375 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $965,446,000 after buying an additional 954,907 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,758,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $960,139,000 after buying an additional 31,703 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based electric power holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company’s core business is the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Duke Energy operates a mix of regulated electric utilities and non-regulated energy businesses, providing essential energy infrastructure and services across multiple states.

Its operating activities include owning and operating generation assets across a portfolio that encompasses nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and an expanding array of renewable resources, as well as battery storage and grid modernization projects.