Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by Sound Income Strategies LLC

Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $171,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 21,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $120,000. Jmac Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 3,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 231,690 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,484,000 after purchasing an additional 21,773 shares during the period. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 116.8% in the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.75.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

DUK stock traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $112.67. 2,218,742 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,968,208. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $104.65 and its 200-day moving average is $99.43. The company has a market cap of $86.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $116.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 105.03%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

About Duke Energy

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.