Capital Square LLC Lowers Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Capital Square LLC decreased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 54.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,298 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,164 shares during the period. Capital Square LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,142,000. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC now owns 2,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. MSH Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $1,297,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 151,640 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $16,338,000 after purchasing an additional 13,228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,949 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,180,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock traded up $1.87 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $122.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,001,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,369,074. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $117.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.11. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $96.68 and a 12 month high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. On average, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $123.87.

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.