Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Raised to $108.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its target price hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $104.00 to $108.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Scotiabank decreased their price target on 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. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. 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 report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Duke Energy from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and increased their price target for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $101.31.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded up $0.63 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $103.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,995,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,035,242. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.47 billion, a PE ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $103.05. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’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 value of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 295,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,082,000 after purchasing an additional 4,590 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 31.2% during the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 31,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,744,000 after purchasing an additional 7,391 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,333 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 3.3% during the third quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,938 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 9,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

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.