Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Holdings Decreased by SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC

SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC cut its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 78.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,317 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,680 shares during the quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 435,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,084,000 after buying an additional 13,406 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP grew 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 purchasing an additional 9,917 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 182.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 39,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,786,000 after purchasing an additional 25,203 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.69.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

DUK stock opened at $115.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $89.45 billion, a PE ratio of 29.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $118.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.58.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given 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 dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.03%.

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.