Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Position Cut by CapWealth Advisors LLC

CapWealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 205 shares during the quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. CKW Financial Group bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of DUK traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $94.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 439,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,973,190. The business has a fifty day moving average of $94.00 and a 200 day moving average of $93.22. The company has a market cap of $73.01 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $100.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced 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 firm 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 business posted $1.11 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.