Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers reduced its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 435,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 21,621 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers owned approximately 0.06% of Duke Energy worth $43,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 69.6% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 101.2% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp upped their price target on Duke Energy from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. 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 report on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $118.21.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $116.22 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.20, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $118.31.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the 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 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.