Transce3nd LLC Takes $438,000 Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,065 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $438,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,852,731,000 after acquiring an additional 779,054 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,097,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,949,857,000 after purchasing an additional 124,863 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,930,833,000 after purchasing an additional 385,612 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $922,529,000 after buying an additional 135,665 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,205,479 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $345,358,000 after buying an additional 90,552 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.1 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $121.65 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $96.68 and a one year high of $125.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $117.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.08. 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 company has a market capitalization of $94.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. On average, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.87.

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.