JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target to $136.00

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $139.00 to $136.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 9.64% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, April 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $142.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Capitol Sec Mgt lowered Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.00.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK traded down $1.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $124.04. The company had a trading volume of 201,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,060,082. Duke Energy has a 12-month low of $111.22 and a 12-month high of $134.49. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $129.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.13. The stock has a market cap of $96.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.00 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. Duke Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.550-6.80 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total transaction of $123,001.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,896 shares in the company, valued at $498,142.56. The trade was a 19.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was 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 $2,809,633.69. This trade represents a 23.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 31,262 shares of company stock worth $3,916,582 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,825,000 after acquiring an additional 3,797 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,686,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 523.4% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 42,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,983,000 after purchasing an additional 35,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $954,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Duke Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Duke Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy reported first-quarter results that topped expectations, with EPS of $1.93 versus $1.87 expected and revenue of $9.18 billion versus $8.44 billion expected, reinforcing confidence in the company’s earnings momentum. Duke Energy earnings and growth commentary
• Positive Sentiment: The company said it applied for U.S. Department of Energy loans that could fund grid upgrades and new capacity while potentially saving customers billions, a development that may support Duke’s capital plan and long-term regulated growth. Duke Energy DOE loan application
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore nudged its price target higher on DUK, signaling continued analyst confidence in the utility’s earnings outlook and valuation. Evercore price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies trimmed its target slightly, and UBS also lowered its target, but both still imply upside from current levels, so these notes look more like valuation fine-tuning than a bearish thesis shift. Jefferies target reduction
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares, and CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares in separate disclosed transactions, which can weigh on sentiment even if the sales are routine. Harry Sideris SEC filing Louis Renjel SEC filing

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.