Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by Schechter Investment Advisors LLC

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,103 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 47,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,276,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 29.5% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after buying an additional 2,223 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 447.8% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 2.6 %

NYSE DUK opened at $96.10 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.88. The company has a market capitalization of $74.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.07, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $100.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The company had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a $1.025 dividend. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 115.49%.

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.