Alpine Bank Wealth Management Buys Shares of 3,031 Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,031 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $370,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 10,817 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 16,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 5,379 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded down $0.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $115.99. The company had a trading volume of 2,966,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,459,357. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $99.21 and a 1-year high of $125.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.97. The firm has a market cap of $90.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.77.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The firm 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 company's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. Research analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given 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 3.60%. Duke Energy's payout ratio is presently 69.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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 research report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays raised their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $126.94.

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.