Signaturefd LLC Cuts Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Signaturefd LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 24.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,656 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,176 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,002,157 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,468,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $923,907,000 after purchasing an additional 492,011 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Duke Energy by 2.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,918,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $698,923,000 after buying an additional 144,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 100,433.2% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,846,616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $808,123,000 after acquiring an additional 7,838,811 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DUK. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI upgraded Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America raised 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.17.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $98.24 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $75.79 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $100.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.