Hennessy Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,887 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,500 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $13,647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.8% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 66,393 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,098,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at about $233,000. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% in the first quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 17,987 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,194,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. RTD Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at about $256,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.0% in the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 5,184 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of DUK traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $116.75. 2,789,470 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,455,362. The company has a market cap of $90.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.37. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.21 and a fifty-two week high of $125.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock's 50-day moving average is $118.15 and its 200-day moving average is $114.95.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The firm's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased 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 report on Thursday, April 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $125.81.

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.