Edgestream Partners L.P. Buys New Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 21,419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,147,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,835,047,000 after purchasing an additional 324,289 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,111,521,000 after buying an additional 352,320 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 1.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $247,672,000 after acquiring an additional 40,243 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,973,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $190,845,000 after acquiring an additional 31,309 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,816,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $182,101,000 after acquiring an additional 240,136 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:DUK opened at $115.90 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $118.31. The business’s 50-day moving average is $112.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.45 billion, a PE ratio of 29.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. Research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.69.

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.