Capital Analysts LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Capital Analysts LLC cut its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 113 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Duke Energy by 4.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,030,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,157 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Duke Energy by 4.9% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,468,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $923,907,000 after acquiring an additional 492,011 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Duke Energy by 2.7% in the second quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,635,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $864,652,000 after purchasing an additional 257,665 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Duke Energy by 1.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,918,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $698,923,000 after purchasing an additional 144,612 shares during the period. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 100,433.2% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,846,616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $808,123,000 after purchasing an additional 7,838,811 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy 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 transaction of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of DUK opened at $94.50 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $94.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.22. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $100.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The company had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Mizuho lifted their price objective 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. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.17.

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.