25,245 Shares in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Purchased by HighPoint Advisor Group LLC

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 25,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,394,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Mizuho upped their target price on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at $45,190,031.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Duke Energy news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total value of $1,027,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $100.06 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $100.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.12. The company has a market capitalization of $77.22 billion, a PE ratio of 25.14, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $104.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. Research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $1.025 dividend. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 103.02%.

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.