BMO Capital Markets Lowers Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target to $109.00

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price target lowered by BMO Capital Markets from $110.00 to $109.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. KeyCorp raised their price target on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho raised their target price on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $102.42.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:DUK opened at $105.39 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The business’s 50 day moving average is $101.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.77. Duke Energy has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $105.90. The company has a market cap of $81.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a $1.025 dividend. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 103.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4 shares in the company, valued at approximately $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the sale, 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 have sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Chemung Canal Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $233,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 29,977 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,909,000 after buying an additional 1,475 shares during the last quarter. CGN Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 20,773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,016,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apella Capital LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 2,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.