Bank of America Raises Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target to $100.00

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its target price lifted by Bank of America from $96.00 to $100.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. KeyCorp upped their target price on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Evercore ISI upgraded Duke Energy from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and upped their target price for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $100.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $101.00.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $94.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74. Duke Energy has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $100.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $94.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.14. The company has a market capitalization of $73.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.73, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The company had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction 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 approximately $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 47,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,276,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 29.5% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after buying an additional 2,223 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 447.8% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently 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.