Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. Sells 2,214 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. lowered its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 13.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,214 shares during the quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $121.71 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.81. 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 $94.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.37. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $105.20 and a fifty-two week high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.25.

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.