1,752 Shares in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Bought by Petix & Botte Co

Petix & Botte Co bought a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 69.6% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded up $0.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $120.76. The company had a trading volume of 3,562,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,055,297. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $85.79 and a twelve month high of $120.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $115.00 and its 200 day moving average is $106.74. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

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.