FourThought Financial Partners LLC Purchases 191 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $771,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Chemung Canal Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Verum Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 3,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 27,481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,667,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on DUK. Mizuho raised their price target on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective 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. Barclays boosted 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, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.62.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

DUK stock traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $100.26. 4,338,461 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,636,808. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $100.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $95.53 and a 200-day moving average of $94.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.