Summit Financial LLC Acquires 1,995 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Summit Financial LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 35.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,995 shares during the quarter. Summit Financial LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,666 shares during the period. AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. TCG Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. TCG Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 351,469 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,505,000 after purchasing an additional 19,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $1,333,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $113.95 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.55. The stock has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $116.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted 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. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.92.

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.