GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. Takes Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. purchased a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $500,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Duke Energy by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,030,865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,157 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 9,164.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 979,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,031,000 after buying an additional 968,723 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 242.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,044,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $101,348,000 after acquiring an additional 739,112 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,205,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $635,952,000 after acquiring an additional 715,069 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 273.2% during the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 766,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,635,000 after acquiring an additional 561,000 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $100.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $100.56. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $95.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.09. The company has a market capitalization of $77.35 billion, a PE ratio of 28.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 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.