Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Given New $141.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its target price reduced by Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $141.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on DUK. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Duke Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.50.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $125.79 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Duke Energy has a twelve month low of $111.22 and a twelve month high of $134.49. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $129.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.18. The firm has a market cap of $97.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.01. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.66% and a net margin of 15.41%.The company had revenue of $7.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total value of $868,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,809,633.69. This represents a 23.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total value of $123,001.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,142.56. The trade was a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,172,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957,592 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,292,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,266,675,000 after purchasing an additional 230,375 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,931,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,046,818,000 after purchasing an additional 58,375 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $965,446,000 after purchasing an additional 954,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.4% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,758,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $960,139,000 after purchasing an additional 31,703 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Duke Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Duke Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo nudged its price target higher to $136 (from $135) while keeping an “equal weight” rating — a modest positive signal that supports upside vs. the current price. Wells Fargo raises PT to $136
• Neutral Sentiment: Company PR highlights lineworkers advancing to the International Lineman’s Rodeo — positive for operational reliability and employee recognition but unlikely to move the stock materially. Powering Reliability: Duke Energy lineworkers sharpen skills
• Neutral Sentiment: Market reports and summaries note DUK closed lower in recent sessions — descriptive coverage of the pullback rather than new fundamental news. Duke Energy sees a dip vs. market
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target slightly to $141 (from $142) while maintaining an “equal weight” rating — a small headwind to sentiment and a signal of conservative near-term expectations. Morgan Stanley lowers PT to $141
• Negative Sentiment: An opinion piece flags Duke’s roughly $103B planned capex as compressing its credit cushion — a reminder that heavy spending could pressure credit metrics and valuation if not offset by regulatory recoveries or higher returns. That theme likely weighs on risk sentiment for the name. Capex is compressing the credit cushion

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based electric power holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company’s core business is the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Duke Energy operates a mix of regulated electric utilities and non-regulated energy businesses, providing essential energy infrastructure and services across multiple states.

Its operating activities include owning and operating generation assets across a portfolio that encompasses nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and an expanding array of renewable resources, as well as battery storage and grid modernization projects.