State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Decreases Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury reduced its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 270,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,946 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $29,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 802.2% during the fourth quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 95,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,290,000 after purchasing an additional 84,924 shares in the last quarter. Vectors Research Management LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Vectors Research Management LLC now owns 20,105 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,166,000 after acquiring an additional 3,197 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 24,942 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,687,000 after purchasing an additional 2,935 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $438,000. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 319,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,419,000 after acquiring an additional 63,618 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $120.20 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $96.68 and a 1-year high of $125.27. The company has a market capitalization of $93.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $117.64 and a 200-day moving average of $114.11.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group increased their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.