Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Holdings Reduced by Oakworth Capital Inc.

Oakworth Capital Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 28.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,299 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $707,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Bcwm LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $9,815,000. Bailard Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,439,000 after buying an additional 3,139 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,852,000 after acquiring an additional 7,319 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $384,000. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 76,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,240,000 after purchasing an additional 20,414 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $116.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $90.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $117.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.01. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $99.21 and a twelve month high of $125.27.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on DUK. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $132.00 in a report on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.94.

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.