3Chopt Investment Partners LLC Makes New $450,000 Investment in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $450,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.2% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 435,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,084,000 after buying an additional 13,406 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 57.8% in the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 27,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 9,917 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in Duke Energy by 63.8% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 44,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,324,000 after purchasing an additional 17,420 shares in the last quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $254,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 9.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,520,000 after buying an additional 9,334 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $116.22 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap 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 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $118.31. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.00. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other 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 transaction of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.21.

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.