Stablepoint Partners LLC Has $4.32 Million Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Stablepoint Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,722 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,511 shares during the quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on DUK. Scotiabank upped their target price on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE DUK opened at $117.04 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $108.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.82. 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 fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $117.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.38 billion, a PE ratio of 29.41, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 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 company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company 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 $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. This is a boost 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%.

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.