Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Sets New 1-Year High After Earnings Beat

Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $101.25 and last traded at $100.67, with a volume of 190288 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $100.42.

The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on DUK. Evercore ISI raised shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.31.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $79.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.42.

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.