Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Raised to $138.00 at Truist Financial

Key Points

• Truist Financial raised Duke Energy’s price target from $137 to $138 and kept a buy rating, implying about 9.5% upside from the current share price.
• Other analysts remain generally constructive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus, with 9 buy ratings and 8 hold ratings, and a consensus target of $138.73.
• Duke Energy recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $1.93 EPS versus $1.87 expected and revenue of $9.18 billion, while analysts also noted some insider selling and ongoing institutional ownership at 65.31%.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Truist Financial from $137.00 to $138.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Truist Financial's price target indicates a potential upside of 9.53% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Duke Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $139.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $138.73.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $125.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $98.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $124.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.42. Duke Energy has a 12 month low of $113.89 and a 12 month high of $134.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the company's 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. This represents a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $438,025.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. This represents a 14.05% 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

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5,254.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,735,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $358,227,000 after purchasing an additional 2,684,721 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,172,709,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957,592 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 56.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,662,460 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $312,067,000 after acquiring an additional 965,808 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $965,446,000 after acquiring an additional 954,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Milford Funds Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,905,000. 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: JPMorgan raised its price target on Duke Energy to $141 from $136, keeping a neutral rating; the new target suggests upside from current levels and may help support sentiment. Benzinga report on JPMorgan price target increase
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Duke Energy’s contracted load and growth plan as more credible, reinforcing the utility’s long-term earnings visibility. Seeking Alpha article on Duke Energy growth plan
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy Florida promoted its EnergyWise Home program, which offers bill credits with minimal effort from customers; that can improve customer goodwill and retention. PR Newswire EnergyWise Home program release
• Neutral Sentiment: Clearwater appears poised to renew a 30-year electricity contract with Duke Energy, which would preserve a long-running customer relationship but is unlikely to materially change near-term earnings. Yahoo news on Clearwater contract
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke Energy’s next quarterly earnings are expected next month, with analysts looking for a modest year-over-year earnings increase. Barchart article on upcoming earnings
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina’s attorney general is challenging Duke Energy Progress rate increases, including a proposed 15% hike and nearly $1 billion in requested rate changes over two years, adding regulatory risk to future earnings. MSN article on rate hike challenge
• Negative Sentiment: An outage in Greensboro left thousands of Duke Energy customers without power, which can pressure sentiment if it raises concerns about service reliability. MSN article on Greensboro outage

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.

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