Blue Trust Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 2.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 34,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its stake in Duke Energy by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Grandview Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Grandview Asset Management LLC now owns 14,135 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alhambra Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 2,268 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on DUK. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.75.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.3%

DUK stock opened at $114.50 on Thursday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $99.21 and a 52 week high of $125.27. The company has a market capitalization of $88.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $118.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

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. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.32%.

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.