Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Lowers Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado trimmed its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 105,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,941 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $10,620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,835,047,000 after acquiring an additional 324,289 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,111,521,000 after buying an additional 352,320 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $247,672,000 after buying an additional 40,243 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,973,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $190,845,000 after acquiring an additional 31,309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Duke Energy by 15.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,816,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $182,101,000 after buying an additional 240,136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $116.37 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.24, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $112.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.90. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $118.31.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The company’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued 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 yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report 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 report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.36.

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.