Balboa Wealth Partners Increases Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Balboa Wealth Partners grew its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Balboa Wealth Partners’ holdings in Duke Energy were worth $277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,030,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,157 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 9,164.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 979,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,031,000 after acquiring an additional 968,723 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,515,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $799,599,000 after buying an additional 842,458 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 242.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,044,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $101,348,000 after buying an additional 739,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,205,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $635,952,000 after buying an additional 715,069 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of DUK traded down $1.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $102.40. 851,540 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,995,764. The stock has a market cap of $79.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $98.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $104.60. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $1.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.85.

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.