Victory Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 18.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 823,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 182,770 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $79,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,030,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,157 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,468,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $923,907,000 after purchasing an additional 492,011 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Duke Energy by 1.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,918,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $698,923,000 after buying an additional 144,612 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,672,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $656,321,000 after buying an additional 124,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 11.0% in the third 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.9 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $100.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $77.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.23, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $100.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $95.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The business’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of several research analyst 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 research note on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.62.

Duke Energy 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.