First Horizon Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $222,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 6.5% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 49,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,996 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 27,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,415,000 after purchasing an additional 973 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Segment Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $710,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI upgraded Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.62.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $100.23. The stock had a trading volume of 4,338,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,004,530. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market cap of $77.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.02. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $100.56.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

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.