Traders Purchase Large Volume of Duke Energy Call Options (NYSE:DUK)

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 118,666 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 3,170% compared to the average volume of 3,629 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank cut their price target 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. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Bank of America upped their price target on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. 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 report on Friday, February 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $101.31.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of DUK stock traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $103.35. 2,635,470 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,010,242. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $103.83. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.89. The firm has a market cap of $79.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The business's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is 103.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of Duke Energy 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,118 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,159,000 after purchasing an additional 1,613 shares during the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 6.2% during the third quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.2% during the third quarter. Optas LLC now owns 6,979 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. raised its position in Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 27,785 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,452,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 48,453 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,276,000 after acquiring an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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