Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from KeyCorp

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective cut by research analysts at KeyCorp from $139.00 to $128.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. KeyCorp’s target price points to a potential upside of 8.79% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on DUK. Barclays cut their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $146.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Duke Energy from $133.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $121.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.06.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.9%

Duke Energy stock opened at $117.66 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.74 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.02. Duke Energy has a 12 month low of $112.40 and a 12 month high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.66 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.78% and a return on equity of 9.78%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy will post 6.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. now owns 6,623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $838,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Sharp Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.5% during the first quarter. Sharp Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.3% during the first quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 2.8% during the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Walker Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.7% in the first quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC now owns 4,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $651,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK) is an energy holding company that operates regulated electric and natural gas utilities in the United States. Its electric utilities generate, transmit, distribute and sell electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and other customers.

The company serves customers across the Carolinas, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Duke Energy also operates natural gas utilities and related infrastructure in several states, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.