Founders Financial Alliance LLC Boosts Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Founders Financial Alliance LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,891 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy makes up 1.7% of Founders Financial Alliance LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Founders Financial Alliance LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,835,047,000 after acquiring an additional 324,289 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,111,521,000 after purchasing an additional 352,320 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $247,672,000 after purchasing an additional 40,243 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 65.7% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,769,000 after purchasing an additional 813,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the first quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,973,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $190,845,000 after purchasing an additional 31,309 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $115.30 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $88.98 billion, a PE ratio of 28.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $113.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $118.31.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 105.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Duke Energy from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.