Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Given New $123.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price target lowered by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $128.00 to $123.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 6.03% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays raised their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $116.01. 1,051,124 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,329,780. The firm has a market cap of $90.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy has a 1-year low of $92.75 and a 1-year high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $173,000. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 460,151 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,055,000 after buying an additional 57,169 shares during the period. Invst LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 2,583 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,012,000. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 23,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,677,000 after buying an additional 1,250 shares during the period. 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.