Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Lowered to $124.00 at Morgan Stanley

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective decreased by Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $124.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

DUK has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 price target (up from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.75.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $114.50 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.90. The stock has a market cap of $88.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.37. Duke Energy has a 52 week low of $99.21 and a 52 week high of $125.27.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 1,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 27,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,356,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.