Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Purchases Shares of 4,831 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 4,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $428,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CKW Financial Group purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 49.1% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 571 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock traded down $1.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $97.71. 1,994,752 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,983,831. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.74. The firm has a market cap of $75.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.52, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $100.13. 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 posted its 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). The business had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. Duke Energy’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 9th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased 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. Seven 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.