First City Capital Management Inc. Has $1.19 Million Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

First City Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 461 shares during the quarter. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 10.8% during the second quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,328,000 after buying an additional 1,287 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 160,042.9% in the 2nd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 11,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,124,000 after acquiring an additional 11,203 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 112,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,231,000 after purchasing an additional 10,162 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 48.1% in the 2nd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 42,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,272,000 after purchasing an additional 13,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 4.3% in the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.36.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $116.37 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.90. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $118.31. The stock has a market cap of $89.81 billion, a PE ratio of 29.24, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.