Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Stock Gets Price Target Bump from Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised Duke Energy’s price target from $127 to $128 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying approximately 5.38% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Duke Energy has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, with nine Buy ratings and eight Holds, and an average target price of $132.80.
• Duke Energy recently exceeded earnings expectations, reporting quarterly EPS of $1.43 versus the $1.30 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 1.1% year over year to $7.59 billion.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by Morgan Stanley from $127.00 to $128.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price points to a potential upside of 5.38% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho set a $136.00 price target on Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Nine 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $132.80.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK traded up $0.13 on Wednesday, hitting $121.46. The company had a trading volume of 869,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,984,630. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $118.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.58. Duke Energy has a 52 week low of $112.40 and a 52 week high of $134.49.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 154.6% in the 1st quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 53.1% during the 1st quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 297 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gill Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 128.9% during the 2nd quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 309 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corporation is an energy holding company that provides regulated electric and natural gas utility services in the United States. Its electric utilities generate, transmit, distribute and sell electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and other customers. The company's generation portfolio includes nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources.

Duke Energy serves customers primarily in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

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