Morgan Stanley Increases Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target to $120.00

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $114.00 to $120.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a buy rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $116.79.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $115.97 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $89.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.14, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $113.50 and its 200 day moving average is $104.64. Duke Energy has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $118.31.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. Research analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,835,047,000 after acquiring an additional 324,289 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,111,521,000 after purchasing an additional 352,320 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,672,000 after buying an additional 40,243 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Duke Energy by 65.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,769,000 after buying an additional 813,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% during the first quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,973,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $190,845,000 after acquiring an additional 31,309 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently 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.