Private Client Services LLC Sells 311 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Private Client Services LLC cut its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,857 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 311 shares during the quarter. Private Client Services LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the second quarter worth $103,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,586,000. Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 94.8% in the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 8,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $844,000 after buying an additional 4,098 shares during the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 62.7% in the second quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 1,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $189,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% during the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 391,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,208,000 after acquiring an additional 4,770 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on DUK. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $108.30 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.62. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 EPS for the current year.

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.