Compass Ion Advisors LLC Sells 179 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Compass Ion Advisors LLC reduced its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 9.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 179 shares during the period. Compass Ion Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $213,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DUK. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 14,268.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,663,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $202,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,608 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $163,819,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 116.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $222,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,581 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,852,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $521,322,000 after purchasing an additional 625,008 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $115.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market cap of $89.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $117.95 and its 200 day moving average is $114.90. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $99.21 and a twelve month high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 price objective (up previously from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Eight 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.75.

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.