Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. Invests $369,000 in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,681 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $369,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter worth about $30,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $116.64 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $118.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $109.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. 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 previous year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were 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 $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.92.

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.