Metis Global Partners LLC Sells 954 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Metis Global Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 954 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,030,865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,157 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 9,164.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 979,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $95,031,000 after acquiring an additional 968,723 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 242.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,044,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $101,348,000 after buying an additional 739,112 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,205,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $635,952,000 after acquiring an additional 715,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 273.2% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 766,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,635,000 after acquiring an additional 561,000 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Mizuho lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $100.42. 2,631,649 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,000,244. 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 capitalization of $77.47 billion, a PE ratio of 28.24, a PEG ratio of 2.67 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 $94.17. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $100.74.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The business’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.