Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Purchased by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 199.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,096 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 41.9% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $119.90 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $115.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.98. The stock has a market cap of $92.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $85.79 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DUK. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Duke Energy from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is 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.