Natixis Advisors L.P. Buys 44,772 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 633,192 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,772 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned approximately 0.08% of Duke Energy worth $61,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $45,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $50,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $71,000. PFS Partners LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 145.0% in the fourth quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 263.2% during the 3rd quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $100.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,338,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,004,530. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.02. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $100.56. The company has a market cap of $77.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.23, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released 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 business had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’s 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on DUK. Evercore ISI raised shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.