Curat Global LLC Makes New $260,000 Investment in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Curat Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,043 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $260,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DUK. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $126.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.81.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $115.63 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $99.21 and a twelve month high of $125.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The company has a 50-day moving average of $118.54 and a 200-day moving average of $114.89. The firm has a market cap of $89.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted 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. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio 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.