Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Position Increased by AGP Franklin LLC

Key Points

• AGP Franklin LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy Corporation by 31.3%, owning 13,566 shares valued at $1.635 million as of the recent quarter.
• Duke Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $1.065, up from $1.05, reflecting a yield of 3.55%.
• Analysts have a consensus price target of $127.25 for Duke Energy, with ten analysts rating the stock as a buy.

AGP Franklin LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 31.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,237 shares during the quarter. AGP Franklin LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 14,268.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,663,183 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $202,858,000 after buying an additional 1,651,608 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $163,819,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 14.8% during the fourth 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. Zimmer Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,027,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $218,454,000 after buying an additional 585,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,001,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $862,036,000 after buying an additional 499,652 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded down $2.25 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $117.68. The company had a trading volume of 2,930,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,430,259. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $116.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $105.20 and a one year high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The business 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 firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. This is a positive change from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Duke Energy's payout ratio is presently 69.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on DUK. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 price objective (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven research 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 stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $127.25.

Duke Energy Company 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.