TCW Group Inc. Has $1.39 Million Stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

TCW Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 5.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 614 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,394,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horan Capital Advisors LLC. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 14.7% during the first quarter. Horan Capital Advisors LLC. now owns 2,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $677,000. Atlantic Family Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 6.6% during the first quarter. Atlantic Family Wealth LLC now owns 2,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.7% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 26,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,244,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bearing Point Capital LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.4% during the first quarter. Bearing Point Capital LLC now owns 7,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $117.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $116.97 and a 200-day moving average of $116.66. The stock has a market cap of $91.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.52, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 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.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. This is a boost 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 yield of 3.62%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective 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. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 price objective (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven investment 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.25.

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.