NewSquare Capital LLC Has $6.23 Million Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

NewSquare Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 65,065 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 280 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Duke Energy by 4.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,030,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,157 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,468,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $923,907,000 after purchasing an additional 492,011 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,918,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $698,923,000 after purchasing an additional 144,612 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.6% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $98.20. 2,148,786 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,006,441. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.76 billion, a PE ratio of 27.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $100.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $94.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.52.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Evercore ISI raised Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.