Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Buys Shares of 2,702 Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,702 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth $27,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 price objective (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced 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 note on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $127.25.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock traded up $0.93 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $118.39. The stock had a trading volume of 2,475,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,629,473. 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 twelve month low of $105.20 and a twelve month high of $125.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.02 billion, a PE ratio of 19.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The business 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business 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 boost from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.32%.

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.