Simmons Bank Raises Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Simmons Bank lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DUK. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. AJOVista LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $71,000. PFS Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 145.0% in the 4th quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $77,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Barclays increased their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI upgraded Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK traded up $1.84 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $102.26. 3,801,871 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,018,786. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $102.36. The company has a market cap of $78.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $95.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. Duke Energy’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

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.