Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Short Interest Update

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,400,000 shares, a decline of 10.6% from the March 15th total of 9,400,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,060,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CKW Financial Group purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, O Dell Group LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $92.86 on Wednesday. Duke Energy has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $100.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $94.02 and its 200 day moving average is $93.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The company had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.17.

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.