Drake & Associates LLC Grows Position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Drake & Associates LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 29.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,433 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,837 shares during the period. Drake & Associates LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE DUK traded down $0.06 during trading on Monday, reaching $117.25. 2,039,438 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,486,155. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $91.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $117.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.49. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $100.03 and a 12-month high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is currently 69.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.