Fox Hill Wealth Management Has $1.78 Million Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Fox Hill Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 176.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,740 shares during the period. Duke Energy accounts for approximately 1.2% of Fox Hill Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Fox Hill Wealth Management’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price target on 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 boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.33.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $100.23. 3,898,744 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,576,126. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $104.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.18, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $101.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.45.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a dividend of $1.025 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 103.02%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

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