Oakworth Capital Inc. Grows Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 72.6% during the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 3,699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 1,556 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $4,683,000. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $275,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $216,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $118.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $115.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.98. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $85.79 and a one year 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. The stock has a market cap of $91.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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 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 3.52%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

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.