Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Buys 1,642 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,642 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,835,047,000 after purchasing an additional 324,289 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Duke Energy by 3.2% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,111,521,000 after purchasing an additional 352,320 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $247,672,000 after purchasing an additional 40,243 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 65.7% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $205,769,000 after buying an additional 813,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,973,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $190,845,000 after buying an additional 31,309 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE DUK opened at $120.76 on Monday. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $85.79 and a 52 week high of $120.85. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.82. The firm has a market cap of $93.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.85.

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.