Raymond James & Associates Grows Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,924,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,676 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Duke Energy were worth $186,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased 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. Bank of America upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Seven research 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.62.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK traded down $1.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $97.71. The stock had a trading volume of 1,994,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,375,920. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $100.13.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.