Farringdon Capital Ltd. Acquires New Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Farringdon Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 10,604 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,142,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $173,000. Invst LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 19.4% during the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 2,583 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,012,000. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 23,349 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,677,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chelsea Counsel Co. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 14.9% in the third quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 2,701 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.8 %

DUK traded up $2.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $122.29. 829,401 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,367,044. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $117.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a market cap of $95.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $96.68 and a fifty-two week high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. As a group, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on DUK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $123.87.

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.