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

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at KeyCorp from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on DUK. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $121.85.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $119.88. 2,854,901 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,052,693. The company has a market capitalization of $92.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Duke Energy has a fifty-two week low of $85.79 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The firm's fifty day moving average is $115.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.15.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm's revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.2% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 435,157 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,084,000 after buying an additional 13,406 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 57.8% in the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 27,071 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 9,917 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 63.8% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 44,710 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,324,000 after acquiring an additional 17,420 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,520,000 after purchasing an additional 9,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at $2,888,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by 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.