Forte Capital LLC ADV Sells 322 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Forte Capital LLC ADV decreased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 22,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 322 shares during the period. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $50,000. AJOVista LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $71,000. Finally, PFS Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 145.0% in the 4th 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. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Barclays raised their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.62.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of DUK traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $100.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,338,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,636,808. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company’s 50-day moving average is $95.53 and its 200-day moving average is $94.09. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $100.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.24, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its 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 return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The company had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.