Argyle Capital Management Inc. Sells 7,224 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 17.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 34,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,224 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy comprises about 1.4% of Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DUK. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $597,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 4,239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. TFG Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 3,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 24,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,197,000 after purchasing an additional 5,479 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK traded down $1.32 on Friday, hitting $97.71. 1,994,792 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,375,920. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.52, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s fifty day moving average is $94.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.80. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month 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.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The company’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on DUK shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 report on Wednesday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI raised 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. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.62.

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.