Inspire Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Key Points

• Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation, purchasing 5,549 shares valued at approximately $677,000 during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings in Duke Energy, with notable purchases including Bcwm LLC's investment of around $9.8 million in the fourth quarter.
• Duke Energy has increased its quarterly dividend from $1.05 to $1.065 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.55% for investors.

Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 5,549 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $677,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Atlantic Family Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Atlantic Family Wealth LLC now owns 2,015 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 26,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,244,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Bearing Point Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.4% in the first quarter. Bearing Point Capital LLC now owns 7,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 28,322 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,454,000 after buying an additional 3,836 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 72,807 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,880,000 after buying an additional 4,086 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 report on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $127.25.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock traded down $2.25 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $117.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,930,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,430,259. The firm's 50-day moving average is $116.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.66. The company has a market cap of $91.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $105.20 and a 1-year high of $125.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.77.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. This is a boost from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy's dividend 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.