Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Nepsis Inc.

Nepsis Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 169 shares during the period. Duke Energy comprises 0.4% of Nepsis Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Nepsis Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 101.2% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DUK. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $120.76. 3,562,383 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,055,297. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a fifty day moving average of $115.00 and a 200-day moving average of $106.74. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $85.79 and a 52-week high of $120.85. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.03%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.