Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Advisory Alpha LLC

Advisory Alpha LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 401 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 3,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 2,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Seven equities 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, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.21.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $116.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $89.69 billion, a PE ratio of 29.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 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. The business’s fifty day moving average is $113.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.00. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $118.31.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

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

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.