Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC Acquires 2,266 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 84,809 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,266 shares during the period. Duke Energy accounts for approximately 0.8% of Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,030,865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,157 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,468,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $923,907,000 after buying an additional 492,011 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Duke Energy by 2.7% during the second quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,635,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $864,652,000 after buying an additional 257,665 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Duke Energy by 1.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,918,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $698,923,000 after buying an additional 144,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 100,433.2% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,846,616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $808,123,000 after buying an additional 7,838,811 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK traded up $2.31 on Friday, hitting $98.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,212,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,299,082. The company has a market capitalization of $75.79 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $100.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.38.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 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.