Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Liberty One Investment Management LLC

Liberty One Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 0.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 279,555 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,365 shares during the period. Duke Energy accounts for approximately 3.4% of Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $34,097,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bcwm LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $9,815,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,852,000 after purchasing an additional 7,319 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 212.8% during the fourth quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 79,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,618,000 after purchasing an additional 54,413 shares in the last quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 338.6% during the first quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 37,763 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,606,000 after purchasing an additional 29,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 7.7% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 291,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,575,000 after purchasing an additional 20,942 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.88.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:DUK opened at $117.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.50. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $100.03 and a fifty-two week high of $125.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $117.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.55. The stock has a market cap of $91.13 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share 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 $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio 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.