Apollon Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 15.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,088 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,466 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% during 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 buying an additional 1,002,157 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,468,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $923,907,000 after purchasing an additional 492,011 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,918,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $698,923,000 after purchasing an additional 144,612 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 1.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,672,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $656,321,000 after purchasing an additional 124,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,205,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $635,952,000 after buying an additional 715,069 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.62.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $277,710.00. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK traded up $0.17 on Monday, reaching $100.43. The company had a trading volume of 3,081,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,001,468. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $100.74. The company has a market capitalization of $77.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $95.73 and a 200-day moving average of $94.26. 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

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.