Lynch & Associates IN Sells 184 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Lynch & Associates IN decreased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,251 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 184 shares during the quarter. Lynch & Associates IN’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the second quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 2,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 6.5% in the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.3% in the first quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 3,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Breakwater Capital Group raised its position in Duke Energy by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 2,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.92.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $116.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $89.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $118.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 105.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.