Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Purchases 1,057 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,584 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,057 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total value of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $409.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total value of $1,027,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America increased their target price on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.58.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK traded up $0.27 on Tuesday, reaching $107.81. 839,507 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,894,168. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.15. The firm has a market cap of $83.20 billion, a PE ratio of 27.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $108.59.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. 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. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 103.02%.

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.