SPC Financial Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

SPC Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 161 shares during the quarter. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 101.2% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $115.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.85. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $118.31. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $88.98 billion, a PE ratio of 28.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 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 (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 105.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Evercore ISI increased 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. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.07.

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.