Bruce & Co. Inc. Grows Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Bruce & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 205,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,926 shares during the period. Duke Energy accounts for 6.8% of Bruce & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Bruce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $20,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 101.2% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.2 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $117.31 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $90.54 billion, a PE ratio of 29.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $118.18. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $1.045 dividend. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.