Sanctuary Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 130,474 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 130,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,749,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $118.21.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.8 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $115.76 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $114.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.16. The firm has a market cap of $89.34 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $118.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 105.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

About Duke Energy

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.