Longview Financial Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Longview Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 101.2% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $0.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $120.76. The company had a trading volume of 3,562,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,055,297. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $85.79 and a 52 week high of $120.85. The stock has a market cap of $93.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.34, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $115.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.74.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The company’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.