Livelsberger Financial Advisory Buys Shares of 502 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $58,000. Duke Energy accounts for approximately 1.2% of Livelsberger Financial Advisory’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 3.2% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 435,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,084,000 after acquiring an additional 13,406 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP raised its position in Duke Energy by 57.8% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 27,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 9,917 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in Duke Energy by 63.8% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 44,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,324,000 after acquiring an additional 17,420 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 9.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,520,000 after acquiring an additional 9,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,888,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,259,617.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded down $0.76 on Monday, hitting $120.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,089,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,045,613. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $85.79 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $115.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.82. The company has a market capitalization of $92.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released 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 business had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

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.