Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target to $122.00

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price target raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $110.00 to $122.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 6.56% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut 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. 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. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.92.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded up $1.57 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $114.49. 794,288 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,934,260. The business has a fifty day moving average of $103.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.09. 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 company has a market capitalization of $88.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $116.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of Duke Energy 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. 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. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DUK. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 21,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $183,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 15,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,516,000 after buying an additional 1,615 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $120,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 77,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,532,000 after purchasing an additional 5,312 shares during the period. 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.