Wesbanco Bank Inc. Purchases 10,010 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 18.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,582 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,010 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 31.6% during the first quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 5,450 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 8.0% in the first quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 41,233 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,988,000 after purchasing an additional 3,058 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 21.6% in the first quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 32,724 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,165,000 after purchasing an additional 5,815 shares in the last quarter. Petra Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 3.6% during the first quarter. Petra Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,341 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 5.5% during the first quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 21,616 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,091,000 after buying an additional 1,128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $99.30. The company had a trading volume of 2,808,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,987,438. The firm has a market cap of $76.61 billion, a PE ratio of 27.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $95.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $100.56.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the company'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 sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven 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, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $100.62.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DUK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.