Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 435,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,084,000 after purchasing an additional 13,406 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 27,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,618,000 after buying an additional 9,917 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 63.8% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 44,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,324,000 after buying an additional 17,420 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,520,000 after acquiring an additional 9,334 shares during the period. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $2,888,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy 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 directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $120.57 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $86.61 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average of $115.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.25. The stock has a market cap of $93.05 billion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 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.