Morgan Stanley Cuts Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Price Target to $118.00

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) had its price objective reduced by Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $118.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on DUK. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.69.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $114.70 on Friday. Duke Energy has a 12 month low of $89.92 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The company has a market capitalization of $88.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $115.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,016,846,000 after acquiring an additional 442,302 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after purchasing an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,672,000 after buying an additional 40,243 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Duke Energy by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,290,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $264,111,000 after buying an additional 6,500 shares during the period. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $2,537,000. 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.