Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Lowered to $123.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its target price decreased by BMO Capital Markets from $128.00 to $123.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on DUK. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays upped their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $118.81 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.90. The company has a market cap of $92.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy has a 12-month low of $92.75 and a 12-month high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,852,731,000 after buying an additional 779,054 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,097,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,949,857,000 after acquiring an additional 124,863 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,930,833,000 after acquiring an additional 385,612 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $922,529,000 after purchasing an additional 135,665 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Duke Energy by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,503,503 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $916,168,000 after purchasing an additional 357,967 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.