WealthTrust Axiom LLC Increases Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

WealthTrust Axiom LLC increased its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,002,157 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 9,164.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 979,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,031,000 after purchasing an additional 968,723 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 242.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,044,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $101,348,000 after purchasing an additional 739,112 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 715,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 273.2% during the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 766,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,635,000 after acquiring an additional 561,000 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the company’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 value of $277,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK traded down $0.32 on Tuesday, reaching $98.41. The stock had a trading volume of 1,119,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,950,374. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.92 billion, a PE ratio of 27.79, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $94.98 and a 200 day moving average of $93.87. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $100.13.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). The firm 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 business’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on DUK shares. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI raised Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price 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. Seven 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.