Premier Fund Managers Ltd Sells 2,500 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Key Points

• Premier Fund Managers Ltd has reduced its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation by 8.3%, now owning 27,500 shares valued at approximately $3.28 million.
• Duke Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.065 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.62%.
• The company reported earnings per share of $1.76, exceeding forecasts, and revealed quarterly revenue of $8.25 billion, marking a 7.5% increase year-over-year.

Premier Fund Managers Ltd reduced its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,500 shares during the quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 14,268.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,663,183 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $202,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,608 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $163,819,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position 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 during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP raised its position in Duke Energy by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,027,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $218,454,000 after purchasing an additional 585,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 499,652 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 target price (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $127.25.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.9%

Duke Energy stock traded up $1.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $120.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,431,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,583,054. 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 stock has a market cap of $93.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $117.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.68. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $105.20 and a 12 month high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. This is a positive change from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.