Charles Schwab Trust Co Makes New Investment in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Charles Schwab Trust Co bought a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 46.6% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 368 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE DUK opened at $100.20 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.36. The stock has a market cap of $77.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $104.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a $1.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.33.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.