Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Shares Purchased by Pegasus Asset Management Inc.

Pegasus Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,357 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy comprises approximately 1.8% of Pegasus Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Pegasus Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 14,268.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,663,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $202,858,000 after buying an additional 1,651,608 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $163,819,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 116.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $222,520,000 after buying an additional 1,111,581 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,852,731,000 after buying an additional 779,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $521,322,000 after buying an additional 625,008 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $114.77 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $118.10 and a 200 day moving average of $114.90. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $99.21 and a 12 month high of $125.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.