EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 42.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,675 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,490 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on DUK. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.36.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $116.37 on Monday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $118.31. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $112.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.97. 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 stock has a market cap 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.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $1.045 dividend. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.