Sivia Capital Partners LLC Takes Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 2,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DUK. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $369,000. Advisor OS LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 16.9% during the second quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 11,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,588 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.0% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 82,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,232,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 75,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,527,000 after purchasing an additional 2,052 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 105,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,616,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $116.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $109.51 and a 200 day moving average of $102.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.30, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $118.11.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.03%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.