Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by National Pension Service

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in Duke Energy Corporation by 7.0% in Q1, owning nearly 2 million shares valued at about $243.7 million.
• Duke Energy reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.25, missing estimates slightly, but showed a revenue increase of 4.7% year-over-year, totaling $7.51 billion.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $1.05 to $1.065, representing an annual yield of 3.4%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 15th.

National Pension Service lifted its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,997,914 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 131,151 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.26% of Duke Energy worth $243,686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Duke Energy by 2.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,094,327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676,061 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Duke Energy by 1.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,656,244 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,055,087,000 after acquiring an additional 93,699 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Duke Energy by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,503,503 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $916,168,000 after acquiring an additional 357,967 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Duke Energy by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,001,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $862,036,000 after acquiring an additional 499,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $702,351,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $129.80.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded down $2.00 during trading on Friday, reaching $122.26. The stock had a trading volume of 4,023,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,380,039. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $119.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.96. The stock has a market cap of $95.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.36. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $105.20 and a 1-year high of $127.85.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%. The business's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is an increase 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 is presently 67.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.