Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Given New $143.00 Price Target at Barclays

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at Barclays from $127.00 to $143.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 8.33% from the stock’s current price.

DUK has been the subject of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $136.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $136.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $136.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.87.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $132.01 on Tuesday. Duke Energy has a 1 year low of $111.22 and a 1 year high of $134.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $102.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $127.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $123.63.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.01. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 9.66%. The firm had revenue of $7.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total value of $123,001.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,142.56. The trade was a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total transaction of $868,156.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,809,633.69. This trade represents a 23.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DUK. Basso Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Dorato Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1,111.1% in the fourth quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 68.6% in the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

About Duke Energy

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.