Colonial Trust Advisors Purchases 7,578 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Colonial Trust Advisors increased its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 133,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,578 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy makes up about 1.4% of Colonial Trust Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Colonial Trust Advisors’ holdings in Duke Energy were worth $16,245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Toth Financial Advisory Corp boosted its position in Duke Energy by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 1,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its position in Duke Energy by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 27,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,356,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. Citigroup increased their target price on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 target price (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $131.00 price objective (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.80.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $121.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $119.19 and a 200 day moving average of $118.11. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $105.20 and a 1 year high of $127.85.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $1.065 dividend. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.