Moors & Cabot Inc. Acquires 897 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 897 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 2.1% in the second quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 2.7% in the second quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 3,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.9% in the second quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 2,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

DUK opened at $117.70 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $111.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $118.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their price objective 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. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.23.

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.