Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Financial Advocates Investment Management

Financial Advocates Investment Management cut its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 10.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 878 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $737,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at $3,873,000. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.0% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 64,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,467,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $937,000. Simmons Bank raised its stake in Duke Energy by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 32,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,266,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WealthShield Partners LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 20,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,048,000 after acquiring an additional 2,546 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $112.99 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $116.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 105.03%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.92.

Duke Energy 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.