Apella Capital LLC Takes Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Apella Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK – Get Rating) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 124.8% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Clear Perspectives Financial Planning LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1,138.5% in the third quarter. Clear Perspectives Financial Planning LLC now owns 322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $40,000. 63.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Louis E. Renjel sold 1,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.90, for a total transaction of $189,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $995,703.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $96.39 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.26 and a 200-day moving average of $98.95. The stock has a market cap of $74.23 billion, a PE ratio of 29.03, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.42. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.76 and a 52-week high of $116.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.27 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 8.45%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.63 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.005 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 16th. This represents a $4.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 121.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DUK. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.64.

About Duke Energy

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Duke Energy Corp. engages in the distribution of natural gas and energy related services. It operates through the following segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure, Gas Utilities & Infrastructure and Commercial Renewables. The Electric Utilities and Infrastructure segment conducts operations in regulated electric utilities in the Carolinas, Florida and the Midwest.