Heritage Trust Co Acquires New Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Heritage Trust Co bought a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,469 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $266,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $173,000. Invst LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 19.4% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 2,583 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,012,000. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Duke Energy by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 23,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,677,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chelsea Counsel Co. grew its position in Duke Energy by 14.9% in the third quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 2,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.7 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $118.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $92.75 and a 1 year high of $125.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $116.98 and its 200-day moving average is $113.90. The company has a market cap of $92.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.81, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

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.