NewEdge Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 151,640 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,228 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $16,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bcwm LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $9,815,000. Bailard Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139 shares during the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,705 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,852,000 after buying an additional 7,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Business Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $384,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays raised their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock traded up $2.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $122.42. The company had a trading volume of 667,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,366,168. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $117.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $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 capitalization of $95.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $96.68 and a 1 year high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts anticipate 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.