Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) PT Raised to $108.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its target price raised by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $104.00 to $108.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 5.39% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on DUK. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.31.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of DUK stock traded up $0.22 on Wednesday, hitting $102.48. 958,165 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,006,679. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $95.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.37. Duke Energy has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $102.64. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $79.06 billion, a PE ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DUK. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its stake in Duke Energy by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 3,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Breakwater Capital Group increased its stake in Duke Energy by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 2,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Chemung Canal Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 9.0% in the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Duke Energy

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.