Truepoint Inc. Makes New Investment in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Truepoint Inc. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 1.7% in the second quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,683,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 1,497,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $176,711,000 after acquiring an additional 23,541 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,254,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $148,031,000 after acquiring an additional 58,282 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 5.3% during the second quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 520,847 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,460,000 after purchasing an additional 26,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Harvest Investment Services increased its stake in Duke Energy by 70.5% in the second quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 103,358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,196,000 after purchasing an additional 42,731 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. TD Cowen started coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. Cowen began coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.63.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $122.74 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $105.20 and a one year high of $130.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.92. 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 issued 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. The firm had revenue of $8.54 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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 issued 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 dividend yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.