Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Buys 2,199 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 55.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,199 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 3,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on DUK. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note 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 research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, 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 note on Friday, April 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.31.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $102.39 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $78.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.84, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $102.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was 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 directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company 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.