Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Stock Position Raised by NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 177,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,823 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $21,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,365 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,086,000 after acquiring an additional 2,764 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $69,000. Certuity LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $364,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 70.5% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 3,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,469 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 target price (up previously from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.81.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $117.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $91.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $118.13 and its 200-day moving average is $114.95. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $99.21 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The company 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 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.