Morgan Stanley Cuts Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target to $141.00

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective dropped by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $141.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 10.64% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Capitol Sec Mgt lowered Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.50.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $127.44 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $129.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.16. Duke Energy has a 12-month low of $111.22 and a 12-month high of $134.49. The company has a market capitalization of $99.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $7.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 9.66%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total value of $123,001.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,142.56. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total value of $868,156.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 22,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,809,633.69. This represents a 23.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,172,709,000 after buying an additional 1,957,592 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in Duke Energy by 56.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,662,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $312,067,000 after acquiring an additional 965,808 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $965,446,000 after acquiring an additional 954,907 shares during the last quarter. Milford Funds Ltd. acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $97,905,000. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 83.3% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 1,711,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $200,598,000 after purchasing an additional 777,878 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Company Profile

Duke Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based electric power holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company’s core business is the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Duke Energy operates a mix of regulated electric utilities and non-regulated energy businesses, providing essential energy infrastructure and services across multiple states.

Its operating activities include owning and operating generation assets across a portfolio that encompasses nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and an expanding array of renewable resources, as well as battery storage and grid modernization projects.