TD Cowen Begins Coverage on Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK)

Stock analysts at TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 11.24% from the stock’s previous close.

DUK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Scotiabank set a $137.00 price target on Duke Energy and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.77.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $128.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.44. Duke Energy has a 1-year low of $105.20 and a 1-year high of $129.51. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total value of $832,542.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,438,843.04. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oak Harvest Investment Services grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 107,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,248,000 after acquiring an additional 3,695 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.3% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 3,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 10.5% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 8,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 831 shares during the period. Old North State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,525,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1900 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.