Morgan Stanley Cuts Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target to $108.00

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK – Get Rating) had its price target lowered by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $110.00 to $108.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 6.94% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 20th. StockNews.com began coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $111.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.45.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $100.99 on Monday. Duke Energy has a 52-week low of $83.76 and a 52-week high of $116.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $101.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.84. The firm has a market cap of $77.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.36, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $7.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.45 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 14.03%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. Research analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 5.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Steven K. Young sold 415 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.57, for a total value of $38,831.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 112,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,518,390.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Red Door Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,513,000 after purchasing an additional 1,872 shares during the last quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 71,112 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,324,000 after buying an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. Capital Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $206,000. Center For Asset Management LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 8,997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $927,000 after buying an additional 1,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 446,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,998,000 after acquiring an additional 8,579 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.22% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Company Profile

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Duke Energy Corp. engages in the distribution of natural gas and energy related services. It operates through the following segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure, Gas Utilities & Infrastructure and Commercial Renewables. The Electric Utilities and Infrastructure segment conducts operations in regulated electric utilities in the Carolinas, Florida and the Midwest.