JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Stock Price

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $138.00 to $139.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 8.04% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Evercore reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $139.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $141.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.20.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $128.66 on Wednesday. Duke Energy has a 52 week low of $111.22 and a 52 week high of $134.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $129.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.39 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.01. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 9.66%. The company had revenue of $7.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 3,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $498,142.56. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 stock was sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total value of $868,156.00. Following the transaction, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,172,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957,592 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 56.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,662,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $312,067,000 after acquiring an additional 965,808 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $965,446,000 after acquiring an additional 954,907 shares during the last quarter. Milford Funds Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,905,000. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 83.3% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 1,711,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $200,598,000 after purchasing an additional 777,878 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.