First National Trust Co Sells 590 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

First National Trust Co reduced its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,584 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 590 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 4.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,030,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,157 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,468,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $923,907,000 after buying an additional 492,011 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Duke Energy by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,918,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $698,923,000 after buying an additional 144,612 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,672,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $656,321,000 after acquiring an additional 124,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 11.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,205,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $635,952,000 after acquiring an additional 715,069 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK traded up $0.95 during trading on Friday, hitting $100.26. 4,338,461 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,636,808. The firm has a market cap of $77.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $100.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $95.53 and its 200 day moving average is $94.09.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 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 in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. 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 research report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI raised Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.62.

Duke Energy Company 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.