Private Capital Management LLC Acquires 916 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Private Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 8.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 916 shares during the quarter. Private Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $192,000. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc now owns 4,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 9,242 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares during the period. Bar Harbor Wealth Management grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 4,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Duke Energy by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 44,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,414,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of DUK traded down $0.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $112.30. 2,642,682 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,957,009. The company has a market capitalization of $86.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The business has a 50 day moving average of $105.63 and a 200 day moving average of $100.02. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year 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 (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 business had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current 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 issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp raised their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. 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 research report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.15.

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.