Consolidated Planning Corp Reduces Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Consolidated Planning Corp decreased its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 17.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 516 shares during the quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the first quarter worth $30,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America increased their target price on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.92.

Insider Activity

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’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 owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $117.04 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $90.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.41, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.45. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $117.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $108.86 and its 200 day moving average is $101.82.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced 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 return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.