GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. Makes New Investment in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $500,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 1.4% in the fourth 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 period. Chemung Canal Trust Co. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 0.4% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 10.1% in the fourth 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 during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on DUK. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered 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 report on Monday, April 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.62.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

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

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $100.26 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.53 and a 200-day moving average of $94.09. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $100.56. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $77.35 billion, a PE ratio of 28.24, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.45.

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

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.