Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Stock

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $123.00 to $128.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 7.56% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on DUK. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $119.01 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy has a twelve month low of $92.75 and a twelve month high of $121.47. The stock has a market cap of $92.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s fifty day moving average is $114.16 and its 200 day moving average is $113.69.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DUK. United Bank grew its stake in Duke Energy by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,914,000 after buying an additional 1,432 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 93,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,724,000 after buying an additional 8,308 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 10,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after buying an additional 2,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $83,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently 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.