Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Buys 36,000 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 16.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 252,058 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 36,000 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $24,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $29,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, PFS Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 145.0% in the 4th quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note 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 note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $98.66. 582,833 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,944,044. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $94.98 and its 200-day moving average is $93.87. The company has a market capitalization of $76.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.80, a P/E/G 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The business had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.