Live Oak Private Wealth LLC Increases Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Live Oak Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the period. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $115.42 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $117.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.92. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $99.21 and a twelve month high of $125.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.71 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DUK. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Guggenheim increased 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. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.75.

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.