Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reiterated by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets in a note issued to investors on Friday. They currently have a $71.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $68.00.

The analysts wrote, “Duke Energy hosted its first investor conference following its July 2012 merger with Progress Energy. While the merger may provide longer-term benefits (geographic/fuel diversity and financial flexibility), 2013 EPS guidance of $4.20-$4.45 and 2013-2015 EPS growth of 4%-6% were in line with our expectations. We note that the growth rate is unchanged from Duke’s standalone prospects.”

Duke Energy traded down 0.78% on Friday, hitting $68.707. Duke Energy has a 52-week low of $59.63 and a 52-week high of $71.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $68.09. The company has a market cap of $48.370 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.53.

Duke Energy last released its earnings data on Wednesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.04. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Duke Energy will post $4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Analysts at TheStreet reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note to investors on Friday. Separately, analysts at Citigroup downgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note to investors on Friday. They now have a $71.00 price target on the stock. Finally, analysts at Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note to investors on Friday. They noted that the move was a valuation call.

Duke Energy Corporation (Duke Energy) is an energy company. Duke Energy’s segments are U.S. Franchised Electric and Gas (USFE&G), Commercial Power and International Energy.

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