CSM Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 327,625 Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

CSM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 327,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $38,658,000. Duke Energy accounts for approximately 1.1% of CSM Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Duke Energy by 91.9% during the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $641,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 7.2% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,491,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $176,005,000 after buying an additional 100,828 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.2% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $703,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its position in Duke Energy by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 278,122 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,818,000 after acquiring an additional 26,400 shares during the period. Finally, Aviva PLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 13,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,559,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research raised Duke Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.00.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total value of $832,542.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $123.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $96.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $105.20 and a one year high of $130.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $123.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders 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 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.27%.

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.