Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Has $320,000 Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 192 shares during the quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Old Port Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 16,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. NBW Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. NBW Capital LLC now owns 2,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $913,000. OMC Financial Services LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $325,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 64.4% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $804,000 after buying an additional 3,206 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK traded up $1.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $113.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,606,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,871,585. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $116.67. The company has a market cap of $87.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.62, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.58.

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.