Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. Buys New Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 12,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,246,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 13,406 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 27,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 9,917 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 182.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 39,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,786,000 after purchasing an additional 25,203 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 63.8% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 44,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,324,000 after buying an additional 17,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $254,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $115.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $88.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.93, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $118.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $112.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.66.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. 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 dividend payout ratio is 105.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DUK. Barclays boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.36.

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.