Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Lowered to $94.00 at Scotiabank

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price target trimmed by Scotiabank from $101.00 to $94.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on DUK. Royal Bank of Canada raised Duke Energy from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and increased their price target for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Evercore ISI raised Duke Energy from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and increased their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Seven investment 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 an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $100.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $98.11 on Monday. Duke Energy has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $100.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $94.31 and its 200-day moving average is $93.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company has a market capitalization of $75.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the company’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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. CKW Financial Group acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

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.