Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Lowered to $133.00 at Morgan Stanley

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective lowered by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $133.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.61% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 31st. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Mizuho set a $136.00 price target on Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock traded down $2.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $120.24. 1,471,599 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,011,235. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.75 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $125.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.67. Duke Energy has a 52 week low of $113.89 and a 52 week high of $134.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.66 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 15.78%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $605,680,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 5,254.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,735,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $358,227,000 after buying an additional 2,684,721 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,172,709,000 after buying an additional 1,957,592 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $244,731,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Duke Energy by 56.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,662,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $312,067,000 after buying an additional 965,808 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

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.