Twin Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Twin Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 1.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,715 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 433 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 285.9% in the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 7,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $950,000 after purchasing an additional 5,776 shares in the last quarter. Trek Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $227,000. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in Duke Energy by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 19,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,340,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total value of $832,542.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. BTIG Research upgraded Duke Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.00.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $123.82 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.13, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $123.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.79. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $105.20 and a 12 month high of $130.03.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.27%.

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.