Dogwood Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 5,973 Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Dogwood Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,973 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $729,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bcwm LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $9,815,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,852,000 after purchasing an additional 7,319 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 212.8% during the 4th quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 79,989 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,618,000 after acquiring an additional 54,413 shares during the period. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Duke Energy by 338.6% during the first quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 37,763 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,606,000 after acquiring an additional 29,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 291,667 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,575,000 after acquiring an additional 20,942 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK traded down $0.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $117.40. 2,098,870 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,474,396. The business's 50 day moving average is $116.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.64. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $102.66 and a fifty-two week 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 firm has a market capitalization of $91.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $126.88.

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.