Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Stock Holdings Lessened by Warm Springs Advisors Inc.

Warm Springs Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 15.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,291 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 414 shares during the period. Warm Springs Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,588,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares in the last quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% in the second quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,715 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,214,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.6% in the second quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.5% during the second quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 64,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,641,000 after acquiring an additional 2,804 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $542,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.2%

Duke Energy stock opened at $124.05 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $105.20 and a one year high of $130.03. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $123.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $96.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $8.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.51 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. Scotiabank set a $137.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Duke Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total value of $832,542.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.14% 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.