Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Increased to $115.00 by Analysts at Evercore ISI

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Evercore ISI from $108.00 to $115.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 1.10% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $113.75. 162,869 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,930,079. Duke Energy has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $116.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $103.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total value of $1,027,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Howard Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $219,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 2,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 435,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,084,000 after purchasing an additional 13,406 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 27,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 9,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 182.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 39,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,786,000 after purchasing an additional 25,203 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by 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.