Latitude Advisors LLC Sells 204 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Latitude Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 204 shares during the quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 0.5% during the first quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,326,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. First Manhattan Co. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 11,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.6% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 19,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,872,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock traded down $1.26 on Wednesday, reaching $92.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,655,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,341,925. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $100.39. The company has a market capitalization of $71.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.16, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.21.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The business had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on DUK. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.17.

Duke Energy 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.