Cullen Capital Management LLC Makes New $244.73 Million Investment in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Cullen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,933,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $244,731,000. Duke Energy makes up about 2.4% of Cullen Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Cullen Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Duke Energy at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Dearborn Partners LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at about $1,192,000. Ally Financial Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy in the second quarter worth about $3,544,000. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the second quarter worth about $2,138,000. Alta Advisers Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at about $380,000. Finally, Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $569,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $138.00 to $133.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.8%

Duke Energy stock opened at $121.96 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $95.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.31, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.38. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $113.89 and a fifty-two week high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $7.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.66 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 15.78%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.085 per share. 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 3.6%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 65.17%.

Duke Energy Company 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.