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

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective increased by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $104.00 to $108.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 4.84% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI raised shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company 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 stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.31.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

DUK opened at $103.01 on Wednesday. Duke Energy has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $103.05. The company has a market capitalization of $79.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $96.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.42.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Duke Energy

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.