Bayforest Capital Ltd Raises Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 9,314.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,343 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,265 shares during the quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.9%

Duke Energy stock traded up $1.09 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $120.58. The company had a trading volume of 3,431,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,369,901. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $105.20 and a 1-year 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $117.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.68. The stock has a market cap of $93.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. Duke Energy's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.065 per share. This is a boost from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on DUK. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 target price (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $127.25.

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.