Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Shares Purchased by CapWealth Advisors LLC

CapWealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 193,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,260 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy makes up approximately 2.6% of CapWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. CapWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $23,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stratos Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 19.2% during the first quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 17,720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,849 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its position in Duke Energy by 6.8% during the first quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 11,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,419,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $677,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $219,000. Finally, Capital Management Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $231,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DUK. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.88.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $117.25 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $100.03 and a 12-month high of $125.27. The company has a market capitalization of $91.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $117.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.