Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Has $278,000 Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. decreased its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 60.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,738 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Leo Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 18,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares during the period. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,805,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $609,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 19.9% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 28,436 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,279,000 after buying an additional 4,728 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK opened at $120.57 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $93.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $115.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.25. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $86.61 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DUK. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy 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.