The Goldman Sachs Group Boosts Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target to $141.00

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its target price hoisted by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $138.00 to $141.00 in a report released on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.85% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on DUK. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Duke Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Duke Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.63.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock traded down $0.82 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $122.77. 247,660 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,379,397. Duke Energy has a 12-month low of $105.20 and a 12-month high of $130.03. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $95.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.51 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction of $248,760.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,438,843.04. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 7,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $878,000 after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 51,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,264,000 after purchasing an additional 3,837 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,656,244 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,055,087,000 after purchasing an additional 93,699 shares during the period. Resolution Capital Ltd increased its stake in Duke Energy by 7.6% in the first quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd now owns 59,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,318,000 after purchasing an additional 4,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 88.1% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,861,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $592,934,000 after acquiring an additional 2,276,948 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.