Great Lakes Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 44,818 Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 44,818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,673,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the second quarter worth about $605,680,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 5,254.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,735,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $358,227,000 after buying an additional 2,684,721 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,172,709,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957,592 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 56.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,662,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $312,067,000 after acquiring an additional 965,808 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $965,446,000 after acquiring an additional 954,907 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE DUK opened at $123.69 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.57, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.66. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $113.89 and a one year high of $134.49. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $125.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.66.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.13. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.78% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The company had revenue of $7.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.085 per share. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Duke Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $139.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.25.

Duke Energy Profile

Duke Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based electric power holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company’s core business is the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Duke Energy operates a mix of regulated electric utilities and non-regulated energy businesses, providing essential energy infrastructure and services across multiple states.

Its operating activities include owning and operating generation assets across a portfolio that encompasses nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and an expanding array of renewable resources, as well as battery storage and grid modernization projects.