Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Has $4.98 Million Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. increased its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 40,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 290 shares during the quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,378,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC now owns 2,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:DUK opened at $116.79 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $118.74 and its 200-day moving average is $114.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $99.21 and a 52 week high of $125.27. The firm has a market cap of $90.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.81.

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.