Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Stock Position Decreased by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,265 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 69.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 101.2% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy 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 owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $117.21 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.33. The company has a market cap of $90.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $86.61 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 105.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.85.

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.