Morgan Stanley Lowers Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target to $98.00

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its target price cut by Morgan Stanley from $103.00 to $98.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on DUK. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $102.33.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of DUK stock opened at $100.62 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $101.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.38. Duke Energy has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $104.87. The company has a market capitalization of $77.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.28, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $1.025 dividend. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Duke Energy

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.