Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Sells 362 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc reduced its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 36,871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 362 shares during the quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 1,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Barclays upped their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of DUK stock opened at $118.81 on Monday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $92.75 and a 1 year high of $125.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $116.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.89. The company has a market cap of $92.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share 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.