Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target Lowered to $136.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price target reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $139.00 to $136.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on DUK. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $141.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, April 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $142.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Duke Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Capitol Sec Mgt cut shares of Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.00.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:DUK opened at $123.84 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $129.26 and its 200 day moving average is $124.10. Duke Energy has a 12 month low of $111.22 and a 12 month high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 65.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total transaction of $123,001.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,896 shares in the company, valued at $498,142.56. The trade was a 19.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total transaction of $438,025.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,680,087.25. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 24,462 shares of company stock worth $3,048,426 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,172,709,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957,592 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,292,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,266,675,000 after acquiring an additional 230,375 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,931,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,046,818,000 after acquiring an additional 58,375 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $965,446,000 after acquiring an additional 954,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Duke Energy by 0.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,758,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $960,139,000 after acquiring an additional 31,703 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Duke Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Duke Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy’s recent first-quarter results came in ahead of expectations, with earnings and revenue both topping estimates, while management reaffirmed its full-year guidance and highlighted a large five-year capital plan, additional data-center power agreements, and DOE loan applications that could support long-term growth and customer savings. How Investors Are Reacting To Duke Energy (DUK) Earnings Beat, Massive Capex Plan And DOE Loan Bid
• Positive Sentiment: Hot weather across the Carolinas could boost electricity demand as air conditioners run longer, which may help near-term utility usage and revenue. 90-degree heat on the way: Take these steps now to keep your home comfortable and manage energy use
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage of Duke Energy’s nuclear fleet was constructive, noting record capacity factor performance, which supports the company’s operating reliability and long-term clean-energy strategy. Duke Energy’s Nuclear Playbook: Three Horizons, One Strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts made only modest target changes, including JPMorgan, UBS, and Jefferies lowering price targets slightly while still implying upside, so the revisions do not appear to signal a major deterioration in the outlook. JPMorgan adjusts price target on Duke Energy
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling by CEO Harry Sideris and CEO Louis E. Renjel may be pressuring sentiment, even though these transactions do not necessarily change Duke Energy’s operating fundamentals. SEC Form 4 filing for CEO share sale

Duke Energy Company Profile

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.