New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 27,327 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 809,836 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 27,327 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.10% of Duke Energy worth $98,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on DUK. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 target price (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $127.25.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK traded down $0.84 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $117.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,430,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,473,118. The company has a market cap of $91.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.37. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $115.86. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The company's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. This is a boost from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy's payout ratio is currently 69.32%.

About Duke Energy

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.