Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Acquires 11,951 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 49.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,951 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $71,000. PFS Partners LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 145.0% in the fourth quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 263.2% in the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $77,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.0 %

DUK traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $100.26. The company had a trading volume of 4,338,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,636,808. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $100.56. 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 company has a market capitalization of $77.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.23, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $95.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.02.

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 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 company had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.62.

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.