Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,570 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DUK. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $71,000. PFS Partners LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 145.0% during the fourth quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 263.2% in the 3rd quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $77,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented 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. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI raised Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.62.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE DUK opened at $102.26 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $95.96 and its 200 day moving average is $94.37. 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 market capitalization of $78.89 billion, a PE ratio of 28.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $102.36.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released 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 business had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 transaction, 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 can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.