Simon Quick Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 43.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,589 shares during the quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.81.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $116.75 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $90.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.95. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $99.21 and a twelve 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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 given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.32%.

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.