Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 68,259 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 49.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 205,066 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 68,259 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $19,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,030,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,157 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,468,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $923,907,000 after acquiring an additional 492,011 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,635,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $864,652,000 after acquiring an additional 257,665 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Duke Energy by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,918,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $698,923,000 after buying an additional 144,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 100,433.2% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,846,616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $808,123,000 after buying an additional 7,838,811 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $94.50 on Thursday. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $100.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $94.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.22.

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). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The business had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock 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 boosted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Six 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.