Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) CEO Lynn J. Good Sells 15,000 Shares

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at $45,190,031.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.5 %

Duke Energy stock traded down $0.51 during trading on Thursday, hitting $102.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,143,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,022,175. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.45. The stock's fifty day moving average is $97.24 and its 200 day moving average is $94.95. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $103.83.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. Duke Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $1.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.99%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $101.31.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,030,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,157 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 9,164.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 979,294 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $95,031,000 after purchasing an additional 968,723 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4,163.9% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 882,552 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $85,352,000 after purchasing an additional 861,854 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,515,388 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $799,599,000 after purchasing an additional 842,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 242.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,044,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $101,348,000 after acquiring an additional 739,112 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Duke Energy

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.

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