Iowa State Bank Sells 499 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Iowa State Bank lowered its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 24,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 499 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Sachetta LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.9 %

DUK stock traded down $0.96 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $106.82. The stock had a trading volume of 1,318,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,139,131. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $111.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.55. The firm has a market cap of $82.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on DUK. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank upped their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

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.