Highview Capital Management LLC DE Boosts Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 742 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,852,731,000 after buying an additional 779,054 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Duke Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,097,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,949,857,000 after acquiring an additional 124,863 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,930,833,000 after acquiring an additional 385,612 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Duke Energy by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,503,503 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $916,168,000 after acquiring an additional 357,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Duke Energy by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,001,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $862,036,000 after acquiring an additional 499,652 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of DUK stock opened at $117.25 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $100.03 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.13 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $115.55.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 69.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 price target (up from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.88.

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.