Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on DUK. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Cowen started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.00.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.1%

DUK opened at $124.22 on Tuesday. Duke Energy has a twelve month low of $105.20 and a twelve month high of $130.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.44.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. Analysts predict that Duke Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total value of $832,542.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 127,419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,451,000 after buying an additional 11,445 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 93,699 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 3,837 shares in the last quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd now owns 59,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,318,000 after buying an additional 4,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 234,464 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,598,000 after purchasing an additional 4,948 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.