Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Stock Price

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its target price reduced by Barclays from $123.00 to $122.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential upside of 2.65% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 target price (up from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.88.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:DUK traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $118.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,762,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,466,041. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $117.48 and a 200 day moving average of $115.19. Duke Energy has a 1 year low of $99.21 and a 1 year high of $125.27. The company has a market cap of $92.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 20.1% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,102,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $134,510,000 after buying an additional 184,891 shares during the period. 1248 Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Blue Oak Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 17.3% during the first quarter. Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. now owns 3,531 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 32.5% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 677,924 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $81,174,000 after purchasing an additional 166,403 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.