Kovack Advisors Inc. Acquires 1,543 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 21.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,683 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,543 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.0 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $99.84 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $104.87. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.49. The company has a market cap of $77.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a dividend of $1.025 per share. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on DUK. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective 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. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.33.

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.