Sapient Capital LLC Reduces Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sapient Capital LLC trimmed its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 411 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 7.9% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $597,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. CX Institutional increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 4,239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. TFG Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 3,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 24,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,197,000 after acquiring an additional 5,479 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on DUK. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.62.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock traded down $0.47 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $98.26. 2,488,660 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,968,449. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $100.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $95.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 company’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.