Connable Office Inc. Invests $326,000 in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Connable Office Inc. purchased a new position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 108.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 5,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $666,000 after acquiring an additional 2,931 shares in the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Verity Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,154,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 941 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 211,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,938,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Duke Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.00.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $123.76 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.76. The company has a market cap of $96.24 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.44. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $105.20 and a one year high of $130.03. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The business had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 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.