Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 1.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,656,244 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 93,699 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,055,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 212.8% during the 4th quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 79,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,618,000 after purchasing an additional 54,413 shares during the last quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 338.6% in the first quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 37,763 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,606,000 after purchasing an additional 29,153 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 291,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,575,000 after buying an additional 20,942 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 127,419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,451,000 after acquiring an additional 11,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 8.1% in the first quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 51,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,264,000 after purchasing an additional 3,837 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 target price (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.31.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $125.16 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $97.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $117.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.26. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $105.20 and a 1-year high of $127.85.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.