Certuity LLC Purchases 549 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Certuity LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 20.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,268 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the quarter. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 252,058 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,460,000 after acquiring an additional 36,000 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 4,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 57,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,543,000 after buying an additional 3,855 shares during the period. Altrius Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Intrust Bank NA raised its position in Duke Energy by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 9,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $956,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $99.78 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $100.56. The business has a fifty day moving average of $95.24 and a 200 day moving average of $93.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced 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 the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.62.

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.