Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,113 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Romano Brothers AND Company increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 83,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,630,000 after purchasing an additional 4,037 shares in the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $211,000. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.5% in the third quarter. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA now owns 34,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,942,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 13,829.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Counsel Inc boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.5% during the third quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 13,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,517,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $119.01 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.90, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $86.61 and a 1 year high of $121.25. 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 (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 company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Insider Activity

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.