Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Makes New Investment in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,835,047,000 after purchasing an additional 324,289 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,111,521,000 after buying an additional 352,320 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $247,672,000 after buying an additional 40,243 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Duke Energy by 65.7% in the 2nd 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 raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 31,309 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $119.88 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $85.79 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.15. 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 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. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on DUK. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.85.

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.