Oak Harvest Investment Services Boosts Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Oak Harvest Investment Services raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 24.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 114,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 22,798 shares during the period. Duke Energy comprises about 1.9% of Oak Harvest Investment Services’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Oak Harvest Investment Services’ holdings in Duke Energy were worth $13,183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Sachetta LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 101.2% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.3 %

DUK stock opened at $114.02 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $115.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.96. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $86.61 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The firm has a market cap of $88.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its 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 firm 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 company posted $0.91 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share 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. Investors 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 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 76.98%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.