Truist Financial Issues Positive Forecast for Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Stock Price

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price target raised by Truist Financial from $137.00 to $138.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Capitol Sec Mgt lowered shares of Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.73.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.9%

Duke Energy stock opened at $125.04 on Friday. Duke Energy has a 52-week low of $113.89 and a 52-week high of $134.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $124.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.42.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $1.085 dividend. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 65.24%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $438,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at $2,680,087.25. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total transaction of $2,487,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at $11,952,205.74. This represents a 17.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,172,709,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957,592 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% in 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. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position 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 valued at $960,139,000 after purchasing an additional 31,703 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

More Duke Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Truist raised its price target on Duke Energy to $138 and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling confidence in the utility’s earnings outlook and suggesting meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga report on Truist rating update
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan also lifted its price target to $141, even while keeping a Neutral rating, which still reflects expectations for solid longer-term value creation. Benzinga report on JPMorgan target increase
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted Duke Energy as one of the utilities best positioned for long-term growth thanks to its strong customer base and large capital expenditure program, with analysts pointing to contracted load and new demand from data centers as supportive of future earnings. Seeking Alpha article
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke Energy is expected to report second-quarter results next month, and analysts are looking for a modest earnings increase, keeping attention on whether the company can deliver on its growth plans. Barchart article
• Neutral Sentiment: Local coverage suggests Clearwater may renew its long-term electricity contract with Duke Energy, which would help preserve customer relationships and support revenue stability. Yahoo Finance article
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina’s attorney general is challenging proposed Duke Energy Progress rate increases, adding another regulatory hurdle that could limit future pricing power and earnings growth. MSN article
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports say AG Jeff Jackson is seeking to block nearly $1 billion in Duke Energy rate hikes over the next two years, reinforcing investor concerns about regulatory pushback on returns. Yahoo News article

Duke Energy Company Profile

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.