LexAurum Advisors LLC Takes Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

LexAurum Advisors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 1,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 41.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.85.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $120.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $93.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.34, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $85.79 and a 1-year high of $120.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $115.00 and a 200-day moving average of $106.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion during 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%. The company’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given 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 is 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.