OLD Republic International Corp Cuts Stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

OLD Republic International Corp decreased its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 12.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 492,231 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 68,500 shares during the period. Duke Energy accounts for 2.3% of OLD Republic International Corp's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. OLD Republic International Corp owned 0.06% of Duke Energy worth $60,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth $27,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 target price (up previously from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $126.88.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded up $0.39 on Wednesday, reaching $116.70. The company had a trading volume of 907,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,478,384. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $100.30 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $117.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.56. The firm has a market cap of $90.71 billion, a PE ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37. 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 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 69.32%.

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.