Creative Planning Boosts Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Creative Planning increased its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 9.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 278,497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,888 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $27,914,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 65.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $205,769,000 after buying an additional 813,744 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 9,923.0% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 769,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,103,000 after purchasing an additional 761,590 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,141,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,081,125,000 after purchasing an additional 509,039 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 96.1% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 789,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,529,000 after purchasing an additional 387,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BROOKFIELD Corp ON purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,278,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The transaction 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 corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on DUK. Bank of America boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.79.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $115.97 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $113.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.14, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $118.31. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors 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 an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 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.