Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. Sells 168 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. lessened its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,312 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 168 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $432,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 69.6% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the second quarter worth about $30,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $117.65. The stock had a trading volume of 73,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,936,472. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $118.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The company has a market capitalization of $90.80 billion, a PE ratio of 29.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $109.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.41.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.92.

Duke Energy Company 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.