Argent Trust Co Has $6.34 Million Position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Argent Trust Co reduced its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 51,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 656 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake 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 buying an additional 357,967 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake 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 buying an additional 499,652 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $521,322,000 after buying an additional 625,008 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,476,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $424,041,000 after buying an additional 271,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,628,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $320,589,000 after buying an additional 228,052 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 price objective (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.25.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $122.97 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $95.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.36. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $105.20 and a 12-month high of $125.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $117.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.00.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The firm 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share 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 issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.