Securian Asset Management Inc. Has $5 Million Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 492 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,004,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whitener Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.6% during the first quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 45,778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,584,000 after buying an additional 1,591 shares in the last quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 14,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,818,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 1,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% in the first quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 4,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at about $211,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.88.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $117.40 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $116.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.79. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $104.02 and a twelve month high of $125.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.25 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.32%.

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.