Catalyst Financial Partners LLC Increases Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Howard Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $219,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 39.4% in the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 2,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 3.2% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 435,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,084,000 after acquiring an additional 13,406 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 57.8% in the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 27,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 9,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 182.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 39,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,786,000 after purchasing an additional 25,203 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.85.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $0.25 during trading on Monday, reaching $112.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,694,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,953,853. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $86.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $106.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.66. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $116.67.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.03%.

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.