Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Purchased by Hancock Whitney Corp

Hancock Whitney Corp raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,368 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 199 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 1,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.7 %

DUK opened at $119.86 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $118.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $97.49 and a 12 month high of $125.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on DUK. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.87.

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.