Brokerages Set Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) PT at $100.62

Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $100.62.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $99.78 on Friday. Duke Energy has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $100.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company has a market capitalization of $76.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.98.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The company had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

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

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.