Capital Investment Counsel Inc Has $1.52 Million Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc raised its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 571 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $30,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the second quarter worth $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 101.2% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $120.57 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.25. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $93.05 billion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $86.61 and a 1 year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly 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 business 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 company’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. Analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 105.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.