Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Has $5.99 Million Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 61,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $307,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in Duke Energy by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in Duke Energy by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 224,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,817,000 after acquiring an additional 48,132 shares in the last quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 25,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,448,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $11,726,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.9 %

Duke Energy stock traded down $0.93 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $98.03. 288,961 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,966,725. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $100.13. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.63 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly 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). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The company had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.62.

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.