Wealth Alliance Increases Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Wealth Alliance grew its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 26.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 20,866 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,424 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth about $40,000. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.2% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 47,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,276,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 29.5% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 2,223 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 447.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 5.2% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. KeyCorp increased their target price 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. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.17.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock traded down $1.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $93.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,405,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,006,017. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $100.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $94.06 and a 200-day moving average of $93.18. The stock has a market cap of $71.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its 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 business posted $1.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 EPS for the current 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.