Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp cut its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 291,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,660 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $29,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DUK. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the second quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 2,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 6.5% in the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 3,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Breakwater Capital Group grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 2,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $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 company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.85.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

Duke Energy stock traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $112.71. The company had a trading volume of 2,798,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,945,309. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $116.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $106.04 and its 200-day moving average is $100.30.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio 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.