Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 263 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 101.2% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on DUK. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.85.

Duke Energy Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $119.01 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $115.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.25. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $86.61 and a 52-week high of $121.25. 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 company has a market capitalization of $91.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.51%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.