Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 57.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,519 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,106 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 155.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $201,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,979 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 116.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $222,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,852,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Duke Energy Price Performance
DUK stock traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $115.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,604,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,332,058. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The company's 50 day moving average is $116.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.88. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $92.75 and a fifty-two week high of $125.27. The stock has a market cap of $89.95 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.
Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages recently issued reports on DUK. Barclays upped their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $123.87.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Duke Energy
About Duke Energy
(
Free Report)
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.
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