Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 87,715 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,702 shares during the period. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $10,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Eads & Heald Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $222,000. Americana Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 20.3% in the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 4,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.6% in the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 6,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $698,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 3.7% during the third quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 28,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,013 shares during the period. Finally, Silver Coast Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock opened at $112.67 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $87.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.75, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.14. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $86.61 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The business’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 76.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.