Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Makes New $11.73 Million Investment in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 120,841 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,726,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. CKW Financial Group purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $25,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 49.1% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 571 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $98.78. The stock had a trading volume of 316,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,981,383. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $100.39. The firm has a market cap of $76.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74. The business has a fifty day moving average of $94.31 and a 200 day moving average of $93.52.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Bank of America increased their target price on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.62.

Duke Energy Company 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.