Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Given New $141.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price target lifted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $138.00 to $141.00 in a report issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 14.85% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Duke Energy from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. BTIG Research raised shares of Duke Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.63.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK traded down $0.82 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $122.77. 247,660 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,379,397. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $124.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.91. Duke Energy has a 12-month low of $105.20 and a 12-month high of $130.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap of $95.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.51 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction of $248,760.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,301,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,442,269,000 after purchasing an additional 584,382 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,684,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,205,070,000 after buying an additional 319,001 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 11,417.7% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,668,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,084,917,000 after purchasing an additional 17,515,383 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 17,880.0% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,250,133,000 after buying an additional 10,192,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,921,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,088,158,000 after buying an additional 418,014 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.