EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Has $483,000 Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 59.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,864 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Howard Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $219,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 25,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,545,000 after buying an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP raised its stake in Duke Energy by 39.4% during the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 2,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the period. Finally, Wagner Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,691,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at $7,057,253.03. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. KeyCorp upped their price target on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.85.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK traded down $1.12 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $102.32. The company had a trading volume of 387,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,990,698. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $104.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.025 per share. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.