Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by Advocate Group LLC

Advocate Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 85,078 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the period. Duke Energy makes up 1.8% of Advocate Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $9,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 69.6% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.15.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

DUK traded up $1.67 on Thursday, hitting $112.99. 348,813 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,006,181. 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 company has a market cap of $87.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $114.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.69. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $85.79 and a twelve month high of $118.31.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its 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. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a 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 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.