Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC Buys Shares of 2,397 Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $282,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,504 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,472,000 after purchasing an additional 3,201 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 14,542 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Ion Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $208,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on DUK. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 price target (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $127.25.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of DUK traded up $0.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $118.39. The stock had a trading volume of 2,475,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,465,106. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.50. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The business's fifty day moving average is $116.43 and its 200 day moving average is $116.02. The firm has a market cap of $92.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.32%.

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.