Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $30,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Seven equities research 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.3 %

DUK stock traded down $0.36 during trading on Thursday, reaching $113.10. 1,064,116 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,948,858. The company has a market capitalization of $87.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.81. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $116.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.03%.

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.