Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Wright Investors Service Inc.

Wright Investors Service Inc. trimmed its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 14.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,718 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,067 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 69,586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,753,000 after buying an additional 5,127 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 8,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $841,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $8,206,000. Sfmg LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, TRUE Private Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 3,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

DUK stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $94.55. 321,014 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,971,372. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $100.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $94.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The business 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 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.