Tectonic Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 85,469 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,400 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $10,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 37.7% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 41,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,153,000 after buying an additional 11,409 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $1,046,000. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 11.3% during the third quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 274,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,985,000 after buying an additional 27,820 shares during the period. Alley Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 13.0% during the third quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 88,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,892,000 after buying an additional 10,108 shares during the period. Finally, Greystone Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 12.7% during the third quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 93,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,604,000 after buying an additional 10,580 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Duke Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $136.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.33.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total value of $868,156.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 22,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,809,633.69. This trade represents a 23.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total transaction of $123,001.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $498,142.56. This trade represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE DUK opened at $131.90 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.55. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $111.22 and a one year high of $134.49. The firm has a market cap of $102.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.01. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 9.66%. The business had revenue of $7.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Profile

Duke Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based electric power holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company’s core business is the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Duke Energy operates a mix of regulated electric utilities and non-regulated energy businesses, providing essential energy infrastructure and services across multiple states.

Its operating activities include owning and operating generation assets across a portfolio that encompasses nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and an expanding array of renewable resources, as well as battery storage and grid modernization projects.