Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Stock Price

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective reduced by Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $118.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 2.88% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.69.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $114.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $88.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy has a 1 year low of $89.92 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.74.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DUK. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at $36,000. 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.