Fiera Capital Corp Acquires Shares of 3,526 Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Fiera Capital Corp bought a new position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $416,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank raised its stake in Duke Energy by 5.8% during the first quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 18,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004 shares during the period. St. Louis Trust Co raised its stake in Duke Energy by 56.2% during the first quarter. St. Louis Trust Co now owns 5,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $635,000 after acquiring an additional 1,874 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 5.2% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 36,792 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,481,000 after acquiring an additional 1,818 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 20.3% in the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 329,922 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,241,000 after acquiring an additional 55,670 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. TD Cowen began coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Cowen began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.63.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $122.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $105.20 and a 1-year high of $130.03. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $124.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.92. The company has a market capitalization of $95.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The company had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

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.