Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Stock Position Raised by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 14.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 43,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,026,000 after buying an additional 1,342 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 38,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,469,000 after buying an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 11,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,879 shares during the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $217,000. Finally, Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. now owns 2,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.15.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $113.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $87.30 billion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $85.79 and a 52 week high of $118.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.69.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business 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 $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.70%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy 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 value 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 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.