Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Lowers Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec cut its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 40.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,400,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 962,748 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned approximately 0.18% of Duke Energy worth $150,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% during the 4th 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. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays lifted 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 decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $122.11 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $97.49 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The company’s 50 day moving average is $118.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.53. The firm has a market cap of $94.88 billion, a PE ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

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 net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. On average, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal 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.