Hancock Whitney Corp Boosts Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Hancock Whitney Corp grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,368 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. 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 report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, February 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $119.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $118.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.37. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $97.49 and a 52 week high of $125.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Duke Energy Company 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.