1,589 Shares in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Purchased by Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc.

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $154,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 28.6% in the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,023 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 25,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,691,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Trading Up 2.4 %

DUK traded up $2.31 on Friday, reaching $98.24. 4,212,878 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,299,082. The company’s 50 day moving average is $94.20 and its 200-day moving average is $93.32. The company has a market cap of $75.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $100.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.