NewSquare Capital LLC Sells 280 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

NewSquare Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 65,065 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 280 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CKW Financial Group purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $25,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 49.1% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 571 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 188 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 stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.62.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $98.20. The company had a trading volume of 2,148,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,006,441. The company has a fifty day moving average of $94.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.52. The company has a market cap of $75.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $100.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal 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.