Morgan Stanley Cuts Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target to $133.00

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective reduced by Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $133.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

DUK has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 31st. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $136.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $139.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:DUK opened at $119.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.38. Duke Energy has a one year low of $113.89 and a one year high of $134.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $125.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 15.78%.Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $1.085 dividend. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 65.17%.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,825,000 after acquiring an additional 3,797 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.0% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,686,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 523.4% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 42,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,983,000 after purchasing an additional 35,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the second quarter worth $954,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Duke Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Duke Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Duke’s proposed Carolinas resource plan targets 18.5 gigawatts of new solar capacity by 2041, reflecting strong electricity-demand growth in North and South Carolina. The plan could support long-term rate-base expansion, although it also implies substantial capital spending. Duke’s Carolinas resource plan targets 18.5 GW new solar by 2041
• Neutral Sentiment: Power was restored in northeast Charlotte after a damaged pole left thousands of Duke customers without electricity. The incident highlights storm-related reliability costs but appears to have been resolved. Power restored after damaged pole caused thousands of Duke Energy customers to be without power
• Neutral Sentiment: Severe thunderstorms caused outages across the Charlotte region and parts of western and upstate North Carolina. Temporary outages may increase restoration expenses and draw attention to grid resilience, but no lasting financial impact was reported. Tracking Duke Energy power outages amid rain severe storms in Charlotte region Thousands without power in Upstate and western North Carolina
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke employees assembled 10,000 hygiene kits for people in need. The community initiative supports the company’s public image but is unlikely to materially affect earnings. Duke Energy volunteers assemble 10,000 hygiene kits
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its Duke Energy price target from $138 to $133 and maintained an “equal weight” rating. The revision signals limited near-term conviction despite the target implying potential upside from the referenced price. Morgan Stanley lowers Duke Energy price target
• Negative Sentiment: Duke is seeking to disqualify a consumer group from hearings concerning Florida data centers, a move that could intensify regulatory and public-relations scrutiny over data-center electricity costs and customer protections. Duke Energy tries to disqualify consumer group from Florida data center hearings
• Negative Sentiment: Criticism that Duke’s policies place disproportionate costs on its poorest North Carolina customers adds political and regulatory risk, potentially complicating rate cases and future infrastructure spending. Duke Energy deals double whammy to its poorest North Carolina customers

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based electric power holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company’s core business is the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Duke Energy operates a mix of regulated electric utilities and non-regulated energy businesses, providing essential energy infrastructure and services across multiple states.

Its operating activities include owning and operating generation assets across a portfolio that encompasses nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and an expanding array of renewable resources, as well as battery storage and grid modernization projects.