Excalibur Management Corp Buys 119 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Excalibur Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the quarter. Excalibur Management Corp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% during 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 101.2% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.23.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $117.70 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $90.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $111.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.31. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $118.31.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

Duke Energy Company 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.