Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Has $9.30 Million Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 92,777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,841 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $9,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock opened at $117.31 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $111.20 and a 200-day moving average of $102.95. The firm has a market cap of $90.54 billion, a PE ratio of 29.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $118.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This is an increase 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 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.92.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.