Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Bought by Willis Investment Counsel

Willis Investment Counsel lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 6.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 160,282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,300 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $19,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 7,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $878,000 after buying an additional 2,210 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 37.7% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 41,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,153,000 after purchasing an additional 11,409 shares during the last quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 13.0% in the third quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 88,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,892,000 after purchasing an additional 10,108 shares during the period. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 11.3% during the third quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 274,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,985,000 after purchasing an additional 27,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greystone Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 12.7% during the third quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 93,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,604,000 after purchasing an additional 10,580 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Duke Energy from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.50.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $1,015,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,407,234.60. The trade was a 41.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE DUK opened at $123.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $96.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.51. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $110.51 and a 12 month high of $130.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.59.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted 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 company 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 9.98% and a net margin of 15.76%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based electric power holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company’s core business is the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Duke Energy operates a mix of regulated electric utilities and non-regulated energy businesses, providing essential energy infrastructure and services across multiple states.

Its operating activities include owning and operating generation assets across a portfolio that encompasses nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and an expanding array of renewable resources, as well as battery storage and grid modernization projects.