Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 85,770 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 777 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy makes up approximately 1.6% of Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 28.6% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,023 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 25,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,545,000 after buying an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,691,000 after buying an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Evercore ISI upgraded Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.62.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded down $1.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $97.71. 1,994,792 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,375,920. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $100.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $94.84 and a 200-day moving average of $93.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter 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.

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.