Private Advisor Group LLC Boosts Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,485 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $7,330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 11,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,077,000 after buying an additional 860 shares during the period. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $214,000. Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $1,333,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 351,469 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,505,000 after buying an additional 19,613 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Seven 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $102.19. 116,931 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,997,829. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $102.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $95.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.37. The stock has a market cap of $78.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other 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 value 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 approximately $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by 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.