Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Farmers Trust Co.

Farmers Trust Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 51,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 874 shares during the quarter. Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,580,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $781,500,000 after acquiring an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $166,263,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 13,829.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 65.7% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $205,769,000 after buying an additional 813,744 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock traded up $1.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $107.94. 1,909,179 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,867,526. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The business’s 50-day moving average is $111.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 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.