Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at BTIG Research

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) was upgraded by stock analysts at BTIG Research to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on DUK. Barclays increased their target price on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.36.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $127.25 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.36. Duke Energy has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $130.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $98.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.69, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.44.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The business had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Duke Energy will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total value of $832,542.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 98.1% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 53.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Company Profile

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.