First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 173,681 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,666,892 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 173,681 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.22% of Duke Energy worth $179,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $173,000. Invst LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 19.4% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 2,583 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,012,000. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 5.7% in the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 23,349 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,677,000 after buying an additional 1,250 shares during the period. Finally, Chelsea Counsel Co. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE DUK traded down $1.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $119.67. The company had a trading volume of 794,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,378,466. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $97.49 and a 1-year high of $125.27. The firm's 50 day moving average is $118.19 and its 200-day moving average is $114.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. On average, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.