Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Stock Price

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective indicates a potential upside of 18.34% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $126.00.

Duke Energy Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded down $3.71 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $116.62. 2,708,204 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,378,096. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The stock's fifty day moving average is $119.48 and its 200 day moving average is $114.57. The firm has a market cap of $90.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy has a 1 year low of $99.21 and a 1 year high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Duke Energy's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Taylor Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $246,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 22.5% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 534 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth $294,000. Lcnb Corp raised its position in Duke Energy by 1.0% during the first quarter. Lcnb Corp now owns 11,552 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $7,885,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Company Profile

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest.