Avior Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Avior Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 52.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,194 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,476 shares during the quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $390,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Toth Financial Advisory Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 346 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,034 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,993 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Grandview Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Grandview Asset Management LLC now owns 14,135 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,724,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alhambra Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 2,268 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $125.75.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.7%

DUK stock opened at $115.42 on Monday. 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's 50 day moving average is $117.95 and its 200 day moving average is $114.92. The stock has a market cap of $89.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.37. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $99.21 and a 1-year high of $125.27.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.32%.

About Duke Energy

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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