Bailard Inc. Acquires 128 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Bailard Inc. grew its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $113.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.21 billion, a PE ratio of 28.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.80. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $116.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on DUK. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.85.

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.