South Dakota Investment Council Lowers Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

South Dakota Investment Council cut its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 136,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,400 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $13,247,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 28.6% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,023 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 894 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 25,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,545,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,691,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

DUK stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $98.20. 2,148,786 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,006,441. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $100.39. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.60. The company has a market cap of $75.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Scotiabank lowered 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 research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.