Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC Takes Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

by · The Markets Daily

Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK – Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $615,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Duality Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 57.8% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 27,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 9,917 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 63.8% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 44,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,324,000 after buying an additional 17,420 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 9.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,520,000 after buying an additional 9,334 shares during the period. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at about $2,888,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth about $1,396,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $115.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $89.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 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 current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.01.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

Read Our Latest Research Report on DUK

Duke Energy Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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