LVW Advisors LLC Has $1.50 Million Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

LVW Advisors LLC grew its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 71.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,506 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,470 shares during the period. LVW Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Howard Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 25,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 39.4% in the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 2,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 3.2% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 435,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,084,000 after purchasing an additional 13,406 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho upped their price target on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America lifted their target price 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. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.33.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE DUK opened at $100.23 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.44. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $104.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company has a market capitalization of $77.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.18, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results 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. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.