Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $100.62.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DUK. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $97.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $94.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.74. The company has a market capitalization of $75.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.52, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $100.13.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.