Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Rating Lowered to Sector Weight at KeyCorp

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) was downgraded by investment analysts at KeyCorp from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on DUK. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $119.90 on Tuesday. Duke Energy has a fifty-two week low of $85.79 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $115.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 41.9% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

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.