Pineridge Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 649 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $63,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Duke Energy from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4 shares in the company, valued at approximately $409.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Duke Energy news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at $7,057,253.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.1 %

DUK traded up $1.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $102.36. The company had a trading volume of 2,668,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,517,638. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $100.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.92. The company has a market capitalization of $79.00 billion, a PE ratio of 25.73, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $104.87.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $1.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.01%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.02%.

Duke Energy 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.