BLB&B Advisors LLC Sells 1,019 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

BLB&B Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,019 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake 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 bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 101.2% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.0 %

DUK opened at $119.88 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.15. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $85.79 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market cap of $92.52 billion, a PE ratio of 30.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America increased their price target on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

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.