Vectors Research Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Vectors Research Management LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. Vectors Research Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 153.1% during the first quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 11,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 6,987 shares in the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners lifted its position in Duke Energy by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 9,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Berry Wealth Group LP purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at $271,000. Retirement Guys Formula LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 9,058 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,105,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264 shares during the period. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.3% in the first quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 27,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,356,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 price target (up from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.75.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $116.98 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $117.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.95. 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 Corporation has a 1-year low of $99.21 and a 1-year high of $125.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.32%.

About Duke Energy

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.