ProShare Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 13.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 138,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,942 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $16,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 3,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1,741.9% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 59,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,290,000 after purchasing an additional 56,524 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 17,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,152,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 3.2% during the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,867 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,229,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $123.74 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $96.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $124.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.87. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $105.20 and a 1-year high of $130.03.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.51 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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 given a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction of $248,760.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Duke Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Duke Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.00.

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.