Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Lowered to $134.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective reduced by BMO Capital Markets from $138.00 to $134.00 in a research report released on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on DUK. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $139.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Capitol Sec Mgt cut Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Evercore increased their price target on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Duke Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.47.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $125.82 on Monday. Duke Energy has a 52 week low of $113.89 and a 52 week high of $134.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $98.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $124.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.53.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 period last year, the business posted $1.76 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 65.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total transaction of $438,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total value of $2,487,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at $11,952,205.74. This represents a 17.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 70,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,910,000 after acquiring an additional 9,562 shares in the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 16.1% in the second quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.8% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 12,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,601,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 14.9% during the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 46,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,884,000 after purchasing an additional 6,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in Duke Energy by 15.4% in the second quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy Carolinas reached a new settlement that would cut its requested rate hike by more than half, signaling a compromise with regulators that could improve the odds of approval and reduce uncertainty around the company’s North Carolina utility earnings. Duke Energy Carolinas halves its rate hike request in new settlement
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say Duke Energy lowered its proposed rate increase after public and state pushback, which may ease political pressure and support a more manageable path to recovering costs from customers. Duke Energy reaches North Carolina rate deal that would cut proposed increase by more than half
• Positive Sentiment: Truist Financial raised its price target to $138, and BMO still rates the stock “outperform” even after cutting its target to $134, suggesting analysts continue to see upside in Duke Energy shares. Benzinga report on BMO price target change
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector commentary from Zacks highlighted Duke Energy as one of several regulated utilities benefiting from grid upgrades and clean-energy investment themes, but this was broader industry context rather than a company-specific catalyst. Zacks Industry Outlook Highlights NextEra Energy, Duke Energy, American Electric Power and Ameren
• Neutral Sentiment: Some valuation-focused coverage argued DUK could be overvalued after the recent rate-case pushback, which adds a cautious note but is not as immediate a driver as the settlement news. Duke Energy (DUK) Stock Could Be 29% Overvalued After Rate Case Pushback

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.