Inceptionr LLC Takes $759,000 Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 6,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $759,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,716,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,934,580,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,783 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,684,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,205,070,000 after purchasing an additional 319,001 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 11,417.7% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,668,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,084,917,000 after purchasing an additional 17,515,383 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 17,880.0% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,250,133,000 after purchasing an additional 10,192,503 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,921,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,088,158,000 after purchasing an additional 418,014 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday. Cowen initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. BTIG Research raised Duke Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank set a $137.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total value of $1,015,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,407,234.60. The trade was a 41.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $123.52 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $124.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.00. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $105.20 and a 52 week high of $130.03. The stock has a market cap of $96.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The company had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Duke Energy Company 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.