Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Cut to $133.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective cut by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $136.00 to $133.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 8.76% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank set a $137.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Duke Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.44.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $122.29. The stock had a trading volume of 244,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,386,369. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66. Duke Energy has a 12 month low of $105.20 and a 12 month high of $130.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $124.35 and a 200 day moving average of $120.96. The firm has a market cap of $95.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The business had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of DUK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 63.7% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 686 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. PFG Advisors increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.4% during the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 4,103 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,219,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

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.