Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Grows Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 49.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,951 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,030,865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,157 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 9,164.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 979,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $95,031,000 after acquiring an additional 968,723 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 242.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,044,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $101,348,000 after acquiring an additional 739,112 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,205,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $635,952,000 after acquiring an additional 715,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 273.2% during the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 766,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,635,000 after acquiring an additional 561,000 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:DUK traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $100.26. 4,338,461 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,636,808. The company has a fifty day moving average of $95.38 and a 200 day moving average of $94.02. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $100.56. The company has a market capitalization of $77.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.45. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America raised their price target on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.