Convergence Financial LLC Buys 1,538 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Convergence Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 16.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,538 shares during the period. Convergence Financial LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Sachetta LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to 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 Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $117.21 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $115.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $86.61 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.