Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. reduced its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 38,381 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 782 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. CKW Financial Group acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 49.1% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 571 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on DUK shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Mizuho upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.62.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.1 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $98.11 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $100.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.46.

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). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The company had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

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

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.