Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by CNB Bank

CNB Bank reduced its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 23.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,034 shares during the quarter. CNB Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 worth $202,858,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651,608 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $163,819,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 116.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $222,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,581 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,852,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $521,322,000 after buying an additional 625,008 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $116.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.21 and a 1 year high of $125.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $117.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.01. The company has a market cap of $90.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 69.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 price objective (up from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.