Flputnam Investment Management Co. Cuts Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. cut its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 28.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,171 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,289 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $308,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 47,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,276,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 29.5% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 2,223 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 447.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 5.2% in the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

DUK opened at $95.93 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $100.39. The business’s 50 day moving average is $94.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.24. The firm has a market cap of $74.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released 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 business had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on DUK. Mizuho increased their price target on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America increased their target price on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.17.

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.