Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. Trims Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 86.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 78,392 shares during the period. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Duke Energy from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.23.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $117.70 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.31. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $118.31. The company has a market capitalization of $90.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.03%.

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.