Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Increases Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 27.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,715 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,702 shares during the period. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $10,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after acquiring an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 13,829.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,526 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 65.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,769,000 after buying an additional 813,744 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 9,923.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 769,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,103,000 after buying an additional 761,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BROOKFIELD Corp ON purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $36,278,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $112.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $86.61 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $115.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on DUK. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. 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. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% 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.