Steph & Co. Buys 183 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Steph & Co. grew its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy makes up approximately 0.4% of Steph & Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Steph & Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CKW Financial Group acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at $28,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.17.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of DUK traded up $1.63 on Wednesday, reaching $94.50. 1,725,990 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,007,115. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $94.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.21. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $100.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.46. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The company had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

About Duke Energy

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.