Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL Has $3.09 Million Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL trimmed its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 16.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,132 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy makes up 1.2% of Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 13,406 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP raised its position in Duke Energy by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 27,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 9,917 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 63.8% during 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 buying an additional 17,420 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $254,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 9.4% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on DUK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was 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 $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:DUK opened at $116.22 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $118.31. The company has a market cap of $89.69 billion, a PE ratio of 29.20, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.47. 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 50-day moving average of $113.83 and a 200-day moving average of $105.00.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business 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 positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis 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 presently 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.