Garner Asset Management Corp Reduces Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Garner Asset Management Corp lowered its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 168 shares during the quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $173,000. Invst LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 2,583 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,012,000. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Duke Energy by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 23,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,677,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares during the period. Finally, Chelsea Counsel Co. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 14.9% during the third quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 2,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim increased their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.7 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $118.81 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $92.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $116.98 and a 200 day moving average of $113.90. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $92.75 and a one year high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

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.