Grove Bank & Trust Has $423,000 Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Grove Bank & Trust cut its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 40.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,472 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,331 shares during the quarter. Grove Bank & Trust's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $423,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Grimes & Company Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 4.3% in the first quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 9,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,142,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,531 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $797,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 9.9% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 201,257 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $24,547,000 after purchasing an additional 18,065 shares in the last quarter. Sentry LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 24.8% during the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 30,534 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,724,000 after buying an additional 6,069 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $114.50. The company had a trading volume of 2,937,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,453,296. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $99.21 and a 12 month high of $125.27. 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 firm has a market cap of $88.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.99, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.37. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $118.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.90.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. Duke Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DUK. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $125.75.

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.