Farmers Trust Co. Purchases 219 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Farmers Trust Co. lifted its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,013 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Duke Energy makes up approximately 1.2% of Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bcwm LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $9,815,000. Bailard Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,439,000 after buying an additional 3,139 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,852,000 after buying an additional 7,319 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $384,000. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 76,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,240,000 after buying an additional 20,414 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.8%

DUK stock opened at $115.36 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.21 and a fifty-two week high of $125.27. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $118.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $89.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.81.

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.