Eagle Capital Management LLC Invests $259,000 in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Eagle Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,673 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 30.5% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 88,933 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,849,000 after purchasing an additional 20,762 shares during the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $233,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,074,000. Logan Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,110,000 after buying an additional 1,160 shares during the period. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $613,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at $7,057,253.03. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $99.68. The company had a trading volume of 133,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,921,933. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.44. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $104.87. The stock has a market cap of $76.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a $1.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. Duke Energy’s 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.