Barclays upgraded D to "overweight" from "equal weight"
Dominion Energy Inc (NYSE:D) stock is on the rise today, after Barclays upgraded the utility company to "overweight" from "equal weight," with a price-target hike to $47 from $45. Mizuho and BMO threw in bull notes as well, raising their price objectives to $45 and $50, respectively. These adjustments follow the company's upbeat third-quarter earnings report on Friday.
At last check, D was up 2.6% to trade at $44.76, building off Friday 6.2% pop and further removing itself from its Oct. 23 13-year low of $39.18. The stock's 60-day moving average is keeping a cap on gains today, however. Since the start of the year, the equity is down 27.2%.
Today's brokerage buzz has options bulls weighing in, with 2,034 calls exchanged so far -- volume that's triple the amount typically seen at this point. The December 47.50 call is the most popular, with new positions being bought to open.
If the stock has indeed bottomed out and is on the rise, there's plenty of room for more upgrades to fuel the rally, as 12 of the 16 analysts in coverage still carry a "hold" or worse rating on the stock.