Fairscale Capital LLC Invests $68,000 in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $68,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 69.6% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 101.2% in the first 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on DUK. Scotiabank boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. 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 report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy 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 completion of the transaction, 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 can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $116.37 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $112.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.97. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $118.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.81 billion, a PE ratio of 29.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

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