Bender Robert & Associates Invests $202,000 in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Bender Robert & Associates purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,326,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. First Manhattan Co. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 11,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.6% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 19,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,872,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,033,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock traded up $1.43 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $95.93. 2,639,141 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,002,769. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $100.39. The stock has a market cap of $74.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $94.00 and its 200 day moving average is $93.22.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted 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 company had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% 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.