Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Sold by SBI Securities Co. Ltd.

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. reduced its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,609 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 765 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 6.4% in the second quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 1,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Souders Financial Advisors raised its position in Duke Energy by 0.7% in the first quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 12,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Orca Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.7% in the first quarter. Orca Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,539,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL now owns 4,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $601,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Sentry LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 4.9% in the second quarter. Sentry LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock opened at $123.57 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.91. The company has a market capitalization of $96.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $105.20 and a fifty-two week high of $130.03.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.51 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.00.

About Duke Energy

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.