Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Short Interest Update

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 10,560,000 shares, a decrease of 9.2% from the September 15th total of 11,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,230,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $120.58. 4,589,950 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,052,775. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $114.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.50. Duke Energy has a 12-month low of $85.79 and a 12-month high of $120.81.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 105.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Intergy Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $233,000. Aspiriant LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 13.6% in the third quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 4,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $260,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 5.1% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $823,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BCS Wealth Management acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Company 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.