ROI Financial Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

ROI Financial Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 153 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy comprises about 1.1% of ROI Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. ROI Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,477,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 14,268.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,663,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $202,858,000 after buying an additional 1,651,608 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $521,322,000 after buying an additional 625,008 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,027,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $218,454,000 after buying an additional 585,600 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,001,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $862,036,000 after buying an additional 499,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,435,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $122.97 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $117.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.50. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $105.20 and a 12 month high of $125.27.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 69.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. 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 report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, June 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.