Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Cut to $128.00 by Analysts at KeyCorp

Key Points

• KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy’s price target from $139 to $128 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying 8.79% potential upside from the previous close.
• Duke Energy reported quarterly EPS of $1.43, beating expectations of $1.30, while revenue of $7.59 billion came in slightly below estimates. Analysts have a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $134.06.
• Shares opened at $117.66, near the lower end of their 52-week range. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company, with several major funds recently increasing their positions.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by investment analysts at KeyCorp from $139.00 to $128.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. KeyCorp's price objective points to a potential upside of 8.79% from the stock's previous close.

DUK has been the subject of several other reports. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho set a $136.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $134.06.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $117.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $91.74 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $119.32 and a 200 day moving average of $124.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.66. Duke Energy has a one year low of $112.40 and a one year high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 15.78%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 6.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $605,680,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 5,254.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,735,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $358,227,000 after buying an additional 2,684,721 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,282,341 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $298,850,000 after buying an additional 151,400 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.8% in the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,124,004 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $268,856,000 after buying an additional 36,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,092,284 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $273,979,000 after buying an additional 58,967 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Company Profile

Duke Energy Corporation NYSE: DUK is an energy holding company that operates regulated electric and natural gas utilities in the United States. Its electric utilities generate, transmit, distribute and sell electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and other customers.

The company serves customers across the Carolinas, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Duke Energy also operates natural gas utilities and related infrastructure in several states, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.

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