Short Interest in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Rises By 9.4%

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,630,000 shares, an increase of 9.4% from the August 31st total of 10,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,930,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were 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 directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 109.4% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 322,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,335,000 after buying an additional 32,273 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 92.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 171,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,603,000 after buying an additional 82,163 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,004,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

DUK stock traded up $0.92 on Tuesday, hitting $116.22. 3,729,301 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,982,883. Duke Energy has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $118.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $113.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $89.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $118.21.

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.