Forsta AP Fonden Reduces Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden reduced its stake in Duke Energy by 2.1%, selling 5,200 shares during the first quarter, leading to a current holding of 246,300 shares valued at approximately $30 million.
• Research analysts have varied opinions on Duke Energy, with Citigroup raising its price target to $142.00 and a total of nine analysts giving the stock a "buy" rating, reflecting confidence in its performance.
• Duke Energy announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.065, signifying strong financial health, with an anticipated annual yield of 3.4% for shareholders.

Forsta AP Fonden lowered its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 246,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,200 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $30,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock traded down $1.36 on Tuesday, reaching $124.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,486,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,594,121. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $118.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.70. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $105.20 and a 1 year high of $127.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market capitalization of $96.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.36.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy's payout ratio is presently 67.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of 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 raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 target price (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $129.20.

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.