HB Wealth Management LLC Purchases 4,086 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Key Points

• HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy Corporation by 5.9%, owning 72,807 shares valued at approximately $8.88 million.
• Duke Energy reported earnings of $1.76 per share in its most recent quarter, beating expectations, with a net margin of 15.4% and revenues of $8.25 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, reflecting an increase from the previous $1.05, with a current dividend yield of 3.55%.

HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 72,807 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,086 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,097,796 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,949,857,000 after buying an additional 124,863 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,930,833,000 after buying an additional 385,612 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,503,503 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $916,168,000 after buying an additional 357,967 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,001,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $862,036,000 after buying an additional 499,652 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $521,322,000 after purchasing an additional 625,008 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded up $1.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $120.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,056,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,566,099. 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 has a market capitalization of $93.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.68. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $105.20 and a 1-year high of $125.27.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given 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 dividend yield of 3.53%. Duke Energy's payout ratio is presently 69.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $127.25.

Duke Energy Company 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.