Waldron Private Wealth LLC Raises Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased 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 worth $205,769,000 after buying an additional 813,744 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 9,923.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 769,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,103,000 after buying an additional 761,590 shares during the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth $36,278,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,111,521,000 after buying an additional 352,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,835,047,000 after buying an additional 324,289 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $119.88 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a one year low of $85.79 and a one year high of $121.25. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.12, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46.

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 net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target 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 target on 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 assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

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.