Sierra Summit Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 12.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 350 shares during the quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $314,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth $30,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 101.2% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

DUK opened at $117.70 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $118.31. The company has a market cap 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $111.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.31.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The business 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 business’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on DUK. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Company 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.