The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Increases Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 914,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 21,749 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $91,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the second quarter worth about $5,602,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the second quarter worth about $207,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 6.0% in the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 37,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,793,000 after acquiring an additional 2,134 shares in the last quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter worth about $3,410,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 34.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 550,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,160,000 after purchasing an additional 142,346 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. 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 report on Wednesday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.79.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.7 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $115.97 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.50 billion, a PE ratio of 29.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $118.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued 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. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company 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.