Verity & Verity LLC Cuts Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Verity & Verity LLC cut its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 22.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 985 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 98.1% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 53.7% during the second quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 360.0% during the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.44.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $122.43 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $105.20 and a 1 year high of $130.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $124.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $95.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The business had revenue of $8.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 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%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $1,015,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,407,234.60. This trade represents a 41.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.