Mackenzie Financial Corp Decreases Stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp has reduced its stake in Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) by 2.4%, holding 2,251,170 shares valued at approximately $274.6 million after selling 55,127 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Duke Energy recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.065 per share, reflecting a 3.55% dividend yield, with payments set for September 16th.
• The company's latest quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $1.76, exceeding expectations, with revenues reaching $8.25 billion, marking a 7.5% year-over-year increase.

Mackenzie Financial Corp cut its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,251,170 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 55,127 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned 0.29% of Duke Energy worth $274,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its stake in Duke Energy by 61.5% in the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 4,311 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,642 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $2,486,000. Allianz SE bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $179,000. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 67.8% during the fourth quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 33,710 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,632,000 after acquiring an additional 13,617 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. 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 report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report 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 ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $127.25.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock traded down $2.25 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $117.68. The stock had a trading volume of 2,930,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,430,259. The company has a market cap of $91.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $116.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 69.32%.

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.