First Dallas Securities Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

First Dallas Securities Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 369 shares during the period. First Dallas Securities Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. First Command Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $771,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Chemung Canal Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 3,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 27,481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,667,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Duke Energy news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:DUK traded down $0.36 on Friday, hitting $100.23. The stock had a trading volume of 3,898,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,576,126. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market cap of $77.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.18, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $101.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.43. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $104.87.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 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 firm had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business 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 fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a $1.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.33.

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.