Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Lowered to $99.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its target price cut by BMO Capital Markets from $101.00 to $99.00 in a report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on DUK. Barclays upped their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI upgraded Duke Energy from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $101.17.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $92.86 on Tuesday. Duke Energy has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $100.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $94.02 and a 200-day moving average of $93.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $71.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.16, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 47,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,276,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 29.5% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 2,223 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 447.8% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently 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.