Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC Acquires New Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,808 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bcwm LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $9,815,000. Bailard Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,852,000 after acquiring an additional 7,319 shares in the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $384,000. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 76,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,240,000 after purchasing an additional 20,414 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup upped their target price on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim increased 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. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 target price (up previously from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.75.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $114.50 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.90. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $99.21 and a 12 month high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.