Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co Purchases 14,686 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 549.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,686 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DUK. Basso Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1,111.1% during the 4th quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 68.6% in the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth about $36,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday. Capitol Sec Mgt downgraded Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Evercore boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.62.

Duke Energy Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE:DUK opened at $124.24 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $113.89 and a one year high of $134.49. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.28. The company has a market cap of $96.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.38.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $1.085 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 65.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $438,025.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at $2,680,087.25. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total transaction of $2,487,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 96,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. The trade was a 17.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Profile

Duke Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based electric power holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company’s core business is the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Duke Energy operates a mix of regulated electric utilities and non-regulated energy businesses, providing essential energy infrastructure and services across multiple states.

Its operating activities include owning and operating generation assets across a portfolio that encompasses nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and an expanding array of renewable resources, as well as battery storage and grid modernization projects.