West Family Investments Inc. Purchases 1,677 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

West Family Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 25.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,677 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 2.6% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 21,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,647,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 448.6% during the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 22,609 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,758,000 after purchasing an additional 18,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 50.4% in the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total value of $1,015,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,367 shares in the company, valued at $1,407,234.60. This trade represents a 41.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of DUK opened at $123.77 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $105.20 and a 12-month high of $130.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.25 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.08.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on DUK shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $138.00 to $136.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. BTIG Research raised Duke Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Duke Energy from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.44.

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.