LRI Investments LLC Takes $65,000 Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 635 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $65,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DUK. Mizuho lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Scotiabank decreased 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 note on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on Duke Energy from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.58.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of DUK traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $108.03. 2,270,522 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,489,480. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $110.02. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $102.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.40. The company has a market cap of $83.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.14, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.