Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Raised to $132.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its target price increased by Jefferies Financial Group from $129.00 to $132.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 16.66% from the stock’s previous close.

DUK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.62.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $113.15 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $109.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.97. The stock has a market cap of $87.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Duke Energy has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. On average, analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.7% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 76,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,810,000 after acquiring an additional 1,308 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 13,829.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,526 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,069,000 after purchasing an additional 3,113 shares during the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.4% during the third quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 9,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, apricus wealth LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 5.2% in the third quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 19,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,293,000 after buying an additional 983 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

About Duke Energy

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.