Waldron Private Wealth LLC Has $307,000 Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Waldron Private Wealth LLC trimmed its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,173 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 277 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DUK. CKW Financial Group acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $94.13 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $100.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The business had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Mizuho upped their target price on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America upped their price target on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays upped their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.25.

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.