AlphaStar Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

AlphaStar Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 7.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,808 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 2,861 shares during the period. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $7,852,731,000 after buying an additional 779,054 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Duke Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,097,796 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,949,857,000 after purchasing an additional 124,863 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,930,833,000 after purchasing an additional 385,612 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Duke Energy by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,503,503 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $916,168,000 after purchasing an additional 357,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Duke Energy by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,001,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $862,036,000 after purchasing an additional 499,652 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup increased their target price on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 price objective (up previously from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $126.88.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $116.43 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $100.03 and a twelve month high of $125.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $90.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The firm's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 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.

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