New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 923,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 90,777 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $89,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. CKW Financial Group bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 49.1% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 571 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $98.47. 807,166 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,988,029. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $94.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.52. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $100.39. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last announced its 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). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on DUK. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Mizuho raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.62.

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.