Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Stock

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $135.00 to $136.00 in a report issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 6.35% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $136.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Duke Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.27.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock opened at $127.88 on Monday. Duke Energy has a 12-month low of $111.22 and a 12-month high of $134.49. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market cap of $99.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $7.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.57 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 9.66%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 19.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,825,000 after acquiring an additional 3,797 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in Duke Energy by 1.0% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,686,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. AXA S.A. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 523.4% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 42,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,983,000 after purchasing an additional 35,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $954,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Company Profile

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.