Capital Investment Counsel Inc Increases Stake in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Capital Investment Counsel Inc grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DUK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 29.0% in the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 132,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,218,000 after purchasing an additional 29,880 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $469,000. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $329,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $235,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.00.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,438,843.04. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $123.95 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.89. The stock has a market cap of $96.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $105.20 and a 1-year high of $130.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm had revenue of $8.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

About Duke Energy

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.