Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Hits New 1-Year High at $101.25

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $101.25 and last traded at $100.67, with a volume of 190288 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Barclays increased their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI upgraded Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $78.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.35, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $95.73 and a 200 day moving average of $94.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 28.6% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,023 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 25,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,691,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.