Duke Energy Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:DUK) (2024)

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders bought 5,225 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 50% compared to the average daily volume of 3,478 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duke Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DUK. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 20.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 10,571 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $949,000 after buying an additional 1,811 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in Duke Energy by 8.1% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 4,343 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its position in Duke Energy by 7.6% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 6,805 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 19.6% during the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 14,005 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,236,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298 shares during the period. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 1.5% during the third quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 24,759 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,185,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Duke Energy from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $100.62.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on DUK

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE DUK traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $98.11. 2,932,991 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,017,579. Duke Energy 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 quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.43. The firm has a market cap of $75.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Duke Energy Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Read More

• Five stocks we like better than Duke Energy
• What is Short Interest? How to Use It
• It’s Time to Buy Into the Super Micro Computer Stock Implosion
• NYSE Stocks Give Investors a Variety of Quality Options
• Merger or Not, Albertson’s Companies is a Good Buy
• What does consumer price index measure?
• 3 Cheap Stocks That Shouldn’t Be So

Should you invest $1,000 in Duke Energy right now?

Before you consider Duke Energy, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Duke Energy wasn't on the list.

While Duke Energy currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here