Clearstead Trust LLC Has $437,000 Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Clearstead Trust LLC trimmed its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 151 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $50,000. AJOVista LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $67,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $71,000. PFS Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 145.0% in the 4th quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 263.2% during the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $100.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,338,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,636,808. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $100.56. The stock has a market cap of $77.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.24, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.09. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The company’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. Research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Scotiabank decreased 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, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.62.

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.