Valmark Advisers Inc. Buys 220 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on DUK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America upped their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’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 value 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $114.41 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $86.61 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $115.74 and a 200 day moving average of $107.92. The firm has a market cap of $88.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.98%.

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.