U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC Has $2.92 Million Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 48.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 28,199 shares during the quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $771,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Chemung Canal Trust Co. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Verum Partners LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 3,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 27,481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,667,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. 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 report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays raised their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.62.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:DUK traded up $0.95 on Friday, hitting $100.26. 4,338,461 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,636,808. 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 $100.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $95.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.09.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

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

About Duke Energy

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.