Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Grows Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $103.44 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $79.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $104.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $98.08 and its 200 day moving average is $95.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 103.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total value of $1,027,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total value of $1,027,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at $7,057,253.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DUK. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Barclays raised their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America raised their target price on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.85.

About Duke Energy

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.