Steph & Co. Has $841,000 Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Steph & Co. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Duke Energy makes up 0.4% of Steph & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Steph & Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. CKW Financial Group bought a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded up $1.63 on Wednesday, reaching $94.50. 1,725,990 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,007,115. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.02 and a 200 day moving average of $93.21. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $100.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.16, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. Bank of America increased their price target on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.17.

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.