Pure Financial Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 22.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,037 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 564 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $370,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in Duke Energy by 1,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on DUK. Barclays upped 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 price objective (up from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $125.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.94.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $116.93 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $99.21 and a 12-month high of $125.27. The stock has a market cap of $90.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $117.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.05. 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio 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.