Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Has $674,000 Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV cut its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 106 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DUK. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 17,880.0% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,250,133,000 after acquiring an additional 10,192,503 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth $702,351,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,094,327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676,061 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,651,608 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $521,322,000 after purchasing an additional 625,008 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.6%

Duke Energy stock opened at $122.26 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $118.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $105.20 and a 52 week high of $127.85.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%. The business had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 69.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 price target (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.