Simmons Bank Boosts Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Simmons Bank raised its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,030,865,000 after buying an additional 1,002,157 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,468,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $923,907,000 after purchasing an additional 492,011 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,515,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $799,599,000 after purchasing an additional 842,458 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,918,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $698,923,000 after purchasing an additional 144,612 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,205,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $635,952,000 after buying an additional 715,069 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $1.84 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $102.26. 3,801,871 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,018,786. The company has a market capitalization of $78.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.81, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $102.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $95.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on DUK. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.62.

Duke Energy 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.