Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Buys 2,199 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 55.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,199 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $50,000. AJOVista LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $71,000. PFS Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 145.0% in the fourth quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the period. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $77,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Seven equities research 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.31.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $102.39 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.37. The company has a market cap of $78.99 billion, a PE ratio of 28.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $102.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS 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.