2,726 Shares in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Acquired by HTLF Bank

HTLF Bank purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,726 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bender Robert & Associates acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 98,671 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,575,000 after buying an additional 5,447 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 69,586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,753,000 after buying an additional 5,127 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 8,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $841,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $98.24 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $100.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.38. The company has a market capitalization of $75.79 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 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.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its 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). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.17.

About Duke Energy

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.