Plan Group Financial LLC Has $925,000 Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Plan Group Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 757 shares during the quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,835,047,000 after purchasing an additional 324,289 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,111,521,000 after purchasing an additional 352,320 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,672,000 after purchasing an additional 40,243 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 65.7% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $205,769,000 after purchasing an additional 813,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the first quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,973,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $190,845,000 after purchasing an additional 31,309 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $119.88 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $115.25 and a 200-day moving average of $107.15. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $85.79 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DUK. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

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.