Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Purchased by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 60.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 147,761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,453 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $14,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 435,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,084,000 after acquiring an additional 13,406 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP grew its position 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 worth $2,618,000 after buying an additional 9,917 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 63.8% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 44,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,324,000 after buying an additional 17,420 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 9.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,520,000 after acquiring an additional 9,334 shares during the last quarter. 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 a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $116.00 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $118.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $112.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.28. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $89.53 billion, a PE ratio of 29.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. 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.