Prudential PLC Trims Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Prudential PLC reduced its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 56,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 140 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,624,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% in the second quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 3,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO raised its stake in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 2,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.92.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $116.93 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $110.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.58. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $118.18. The company has a market cap of $90.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The business’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.03%.

Duke Energy Company 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.