Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,666 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,738 shares during the period. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $71,000. PFS Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 145.0% in the fourth quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 263.2% during the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective 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. Evercore ISI raised shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Seven investment 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.62.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $99.16. The company had a trading volume of 407,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,959,544. The stock has a market cap of $76.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $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. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $100.56.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

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.