Victory Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 823,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 182,770 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.11% of Duke Energy worth $79,896,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $771,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Verum Partners LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 3,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 27,481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,667,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.9 %

DUK stock opened at $100.23 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. The firm has a market cap of $77.32 billion, a PE ratio of 28.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $100.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.02.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho increased their price target on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.62.

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.