UPDATE: BMO Capital Markets Reiterates Market Perform Rating, Raises PT on Duke Energy Corp. Following Investor Conference

In a report published Friday, BMO Capital Markets reiterated its Market Perform rating on Duke Energy Corp.

, and raised its price target from $68.00 to $71.00. BMO Capital Markets noted, “Duke Energy hosted its first investor conference following its July 2012 merger with Progress Energy. While the merger may provide longer-term benefits (geographic/fuel diversity and financial flexibility), 2013 EPS guidance of $4.20-$4.45 and 2013-2015 EPS growth of 4%-6% were in line with our expectations. We note that the growth rate is unchanged from Duke's standalone prospects.” Duke Energy Corp. closed on Thursday at $69.25.