Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Invests $1.57 Million in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of 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 fund acquired 12,850 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,567,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $282,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in Duke Energy by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 5,002 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 1,768 shares during the last quarter. Choate Investment Advisors bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $537,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 192,617 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $20,753,000 after buying an additional 21,587 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $117.96 on Tuesday. 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 1 year low of $104.02 and a 1 year high of $125.27. The company has a market cap of $91.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $116.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.86.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. Duke Energy's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. 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 report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 target price (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $126.88.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.