Liberty Capital Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 1,991 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Liberty Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bcwm LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $9,815,000. Bailard Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,852,000 after acquiring an additional 7,319 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $384,000. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 76,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,240,000 after acquiring an additional 20,414 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.81.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.8%

DUK stock opened at $117.25 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $118.13 and a 200 day moving average of $114.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $99.21 and a 52 week high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.32%.

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.