RTD Financial Advisors Inc. Takes $256,000 Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

RTD Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 31.6% during the first quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.0% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.1% during the first quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 2,268 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of DUK opened at $116.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $99.21 and a 12 month high of $125.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $118.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.95. The firm has a market cap of $90.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DUK. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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 cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.81.

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.