Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 891,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,668 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.12% of Duke Energy worth $86,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, PFS Partners LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 145.0% in the 4th quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded down $1.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $97.71. 1,994,792 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,375,920. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $94.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.77. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $100.13. 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 stock has a market cap of $75.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.52, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Evercore ISI upgraded Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Seven investment 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.