Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Pinnacle Associates Ltd.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 4.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,599 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. 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. Barclays dropped their price target on 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 Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.25.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $119.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The business’s 50 day moving average is $116.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.46. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $105.20 and a 12-month high of $125.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 2.99 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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 70.65%.

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.