Truist Financial Corp Reduces Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Truist Financial Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 889,657 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 83,366 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp owned approximately 0.12% of Duke Energy worth $86,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $45,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $50,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 49.1% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 571 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DUK. Barclays increased their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Duke Energy from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $100.62.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded down $1.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $97.71. 1,994,792 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,375,920. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $100.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $75.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.46.

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

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.