Private Advisor Group LLC Has $7.33 Million Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 75,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,485 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $7,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. AJOVista LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,000. PFS Partners LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.1 %

Duke Energy stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $102.19. The stock had a trading volume of 116,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,997,829. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $102.43. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $95.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.37. The company has a market capitalization of $78.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.81, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on DUK. Barclays lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.