Park Avenue Securities LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,333 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,000,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Griffith & Werner Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 5.4% in the first quarter. Griffith & Werner Inc. now owns 23,535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,871,000 after acquiring an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 5.2% in the first quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 54,812 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,685,000 after acquiring an additional 2,715 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $207,000. RDA Financial Network acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $333,000. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.8% in the first quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:DUK opened at $115.22 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $99.21 and a one year high of $125.27. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.91. The stock has a market cap of $89.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.81.

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.