Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,656 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Duke Energy by 65.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,769,000 after acquiring an additional 813,744 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 9,923.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 769,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,103,000 after purchasing an additional 761,590 shares during the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at $36,278,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Duke Energy by 3.2% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,111,521,000 after buying an additional 352,320 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,835,047,000 after buying an additional 324,289 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

DUK opened at $120.57 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $115.40 and its 200-day moving average is $107.25. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $86.61 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 firm has a market capitalization of $93.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

About Duke Energy

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.