Wulff Hansen & CO. Has $77.10 Million Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 9,923.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 769,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 761,590 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. owned about 0.10% of Duke Energy worth $77,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.1% during the second quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 2.7% in the second quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 3,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO increased its stake 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 valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $117.70 on Tuesday. 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 cap of $90.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $118.31. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $111.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.31.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Scotiabank upped 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 note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.23.

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.