Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Increases Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 60,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,124 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. boosted its holdings in 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 last quarter. Verum Partners LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 3,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 27,481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,667,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related 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 completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DUK. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. 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 report on Friday, February 9th. Evercore ISI raised Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target 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, April 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.62.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK traded up $0.17 during trading on Monday, hitting $100.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,081,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,001,468. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $100.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market cap of $77.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $95.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.26.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.