Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Has $666,000 Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 108.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,931 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 17,880.0% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,250,133,000 after acquiring an additional 10,192,503 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $702,351,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 88.1% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,861,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $592,934,000 after acquiring an additional 2,276,948 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,094,327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676,061 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 359.1% in the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,132,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $138,145,000 after acquiring an additional 885,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.4%

DUK stock opened at $123.76 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $96.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $123.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.76. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $105.20 and a fifty-two week high of $130.03.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The company had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 69.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,438,843.04. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank set a $137.00 price target on Duke Energy and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. BTIG Research upgraded Duke Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.00.

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.