Godsey & Gibb Inc. Acquires 2,220 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 204,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,220 shares during the period. Duke Energy makes up 2.4% of Godsey & Gibb Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Godsey & Gibb Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $24,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bcwm LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,815,000. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 10.9% in the fourth 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 Duke Energy by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,852,000 after buying an additional 7,319 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $384,000. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 36.4% during 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. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DUK. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup raised their price target on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.81.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $115.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $89.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $99.21 and a 52-week high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.32%.

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.