Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC cut its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 332,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 12,900 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $33,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 101.2% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.1 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $116.37 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $118.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $112.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.90.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $1.045 dividend. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

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.