Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Park Place Capital Corp

Park Place Capital Corp lowered its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 14.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,683 shares during the period. Park Place Capital Corp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO boosted its position in Duke Energy by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 3,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Breakwater Capital Group increased its stake in Duke Energy by 3.9% in the first quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 2,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $771,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Chemung Canal Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Verum Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 3,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE DUK traded down $0.88 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $99.35. 2,097,621 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,944,838. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $104.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.68 billion, a PE ratio of 25.02, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $101.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.44.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a $1.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Duke Energy news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.