Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 68,259 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 49.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 205,066 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 68,259 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $19,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. CKW Financial Group bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $94.50 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $100.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.22. The company has a market capitalization of $72.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on DUK. Barclays raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.17.

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.