Williams Financial LLC Takes $593,000 Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Williams Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,927 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $593,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 2,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 3,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Breakwater Capital Group boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 2,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $771,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $112.30. 2,642,700 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,957,009. The company’s 50-day moving average is $105.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $86.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.22, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $116.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 105.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.