Stack Financial Management Inc Cuts Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Stack Financial Management Inc reduced its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 199,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,078 shares during the period. Duke Energy makes up 2.2% of Stack Financial Management Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Stack Financial Management Inc’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $19,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CKW Financial Group bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $25,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $45,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 49.1% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 571 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded down $0.97 during trading on Friday, hitting $98.06. The company had a trading volume of 541,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,965,130. The stock has a market cap of $75.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $100.13. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.67. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. Mizuho upped their price target on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.62.

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.