Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by United Asset Strategies Inc.

United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 117 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at about $40,000. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 47,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,276,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 29.5% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 2,223 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 447.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.2% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $94.50 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $100.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74. The business has a fifty day moving average of $94.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.22. The company has a market cap of $72.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Mizuho increased their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of Duke Energy 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy 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.