Shepherd Financial Partners LLC Increases Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Shepherd Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares during the quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,288,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 101.2% during the 1st 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. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.85.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK traded down $0.77 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $114.50. 852,276 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,031,074. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $86.61 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The firm has a market cap of $88.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $115.83 and its 200-day moving average is $108.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.98%.

Duke Energy 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.