Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC trimmed its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 676 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 435,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,084,000 after buying an additional 13,406 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 57.8% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 27,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 9,917 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 182.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 39,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,786,000 after purchasing an additional 25,203 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 63.8% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 44,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,324,000 after purchasing an additional 17,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $254,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America upped their target price on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.36.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.1 %

DUK stock opened at $116.37 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $112.55 and its 200 day moving average is $103.97. 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 one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $118.31. The firm has a market cap 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 results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. On average, research 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

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.