Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC Purchases New Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Sachetta LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 101.2% in the first 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. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 1.3 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $119.01 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.25. The company has a market cap of $91.85 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $86.61 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.03%.

Duke Energy 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.