Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $4.52 Million Investment in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 46,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,522,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. CKW Financial Group bought a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at $28,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $29,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $94.90. 2,279,785 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,543,463. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $100.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $94.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.73, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The company had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised Duke Energy from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Duke Energy from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.00.

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.