2,080 Shares in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Acquired by Bender Robert & Associates

Bender Robert & Associates bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Xponance Inc. raised its position in Duke Energy by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 98,671 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,575,000 after purchasing an additional 5,447 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $6,753,000 after buying an additional 5,127 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 2.2% during 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 period. River Road Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,206,000. Finally, Sfmg LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $201,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $1.43 during trading on Thursday, hitting $95.93. 2,639,141 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,002,769. 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 fifty day moving average is $94.00 and its 200 day moving average is $93.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $100.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the company’s 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 approximately $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. 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. Evercore ISI upgraded Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.17.

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.