Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 234,464 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,948 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $28,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 price target (up previously from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.88.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock opened at $117.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.77. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.54 and a 1 year high of $125.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $117.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 2.97 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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. 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 is currently 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.