Fountainhead AM LLC Raises Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Fountainhead AM LLC raised its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 23.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the period. Fountainhead AM LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 7,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $878,000 after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Duke Energy by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 51,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,264,000 after purchasing an additional 3,837 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,656,244 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,055,087,000 after buying an additional 93,699 shares during the period. Resolution Capital Ltd grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 7.6% during the first quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd now owns 59,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,318,000 after buying an additional 4,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 88.1% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,861,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $592,934,000 after buying an additional 2,276,948 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DUK. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Duke Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $123.01 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $105.20 and a 12 month high of $130.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $123.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.84.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 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.