Gray Wealth Management Inc. Lowers Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Gray Wealth Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 19.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,479 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,109 shares during the period. Gray Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,023 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 25,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,545,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,691,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adviser Investments LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $304,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.17.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:DUK traded up $1.43 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $95.93. The stock had a trading volume of 2,639,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,002,769. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $94.00 and a 200 day moving average of $93.22. The company has a market capitalization of $74.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $100.39. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

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.