Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Given New $99.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $101.00 to $99.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 6.59% from the stock’s previous close.

DUK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays raised their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.17.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.3 %

DUK stock traded down $1.25 on Tuesday, reaching $92.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 389,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,992,966. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.18. The firm has a market cap of $71.65 billion, a PE ratio of 26.16, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $100.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The company had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DUK. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 37.5% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 879 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 435,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,084,000 after acquiring an additional 13,406 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 17.9% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 13,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 237,832 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,001,000 after purchasing an additional 12,971 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.