Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP Lowers Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP lessened its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 65.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,493 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. RMR Wealth Builders raised its position in Duke Energy by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 10,118 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $982,000 after buying an additional 2,507 shares during the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 109.4% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 2,285 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the company’s 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $102.77. 367,358 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,005,484. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $95.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.37. The firm has a market cap of $79.28 billion, a PE ratio of 28.84, a PEG ratio of 2.67 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $102.77.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. 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 research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.31.

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.