FIL Ltd Lowers Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

FIL Ltd decreased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 22.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 119,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 34,218 shares during the period. FIL Ltd’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $12,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 366.7% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $118.81 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $92.75 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.87.

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.