Argent Trust Co Raises Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Argent Trust Co boosted its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,106 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% in the fourth 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 increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% in 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. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays raised their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.20.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.1 %

Duke Energy stock traded up $1.25 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $117.56. The stock had a trading volume of 389,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,327,885. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $91.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.88. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $92.75 and a twelve month high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Equities 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.