Duke Energy's (DUK) "In-Line" Rating Reaffirmed at Evercore

Key Points

• Evercore reissued an "In-Line" rating on Duke Energy with a $139 price target (about 6.6% upside); MarketBeat consensus is a Hold with a $136.87 target and analysts split (9 Buy, 7 Hold, 1 Sell).
• Duke shares traded down to $130.39 (down ~1.1%), with a market cap of $101.4B, a P/E of 20.63 and a 52-week range of $111.22–$132.65.
• The company slightly beat quarterly expectations (EPS $1.50 vs. $1.49; revenue $7.94B vs. $7.57B), while insiders including CEO Louis Renjel sold shares (6,800 shares), cutting his stake by ~23.6%.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "in-line" rating reissued by equities researchers at Evercore in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $139.00 price target on the utilities provider's stock. Evercore's target price suggests a potential upside of 6.60% from the company's current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $136.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $136.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $136.87.

Duke Energy Stock Down 1.1%

DUK traded down $1.49 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $130.39. 154,876 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,286,553. Duke Energy has a fifty-two week low of $111.22 and a fifty-two week high of $132.65. The company has a market cap of $101.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $121.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $122.24.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.01. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.66% and a net margin of 15.41%.The company had revenue of $7.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total transaction of $868,156.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,809,633.69. This trade represents a 23.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total transaction of $123,001.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,896 shares of the company's stock, valued at $498,142.56. The trade was a 19.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pflug Koory LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.0% during the third quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 2,694 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 25,453 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,003,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.7% during the third quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 5,048 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.9% in the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,203 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,854 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Duke Energy

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.