NewEdge Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 151,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,228 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $16,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,180,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 5,885 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $634,000 after buying an additional 1,184 shares during the last quarter. Finward Bancorp bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $679,000. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 42,791 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,610,000 after buying an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montag & Caldwell LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $120.45 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $93.20 and a 12 month high of $125.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The stock has a market cap of $93.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $117.34 and a 200 day moving average of $114.01.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.