Moors & Cabot Inc. Boosts Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 51,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 897 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $117.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.84 billion, a PE ratio of 29.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $118.31. 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’s 50-day moving average is $111.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.31.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released 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. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. Analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 105.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on DUK. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.23.

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.