Oxbow Advisors LLC Buys New Shares in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Oxbow Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,649 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $323,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $282,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 5,002 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 1,768 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 8,342 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $899,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 709,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,489,000 after purchasing an additional 24,269 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DUK. UBS Group reaffirmed 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, July 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven research 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, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $127.25.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE DUK traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $117.93. 1,352,694 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,465,087. The company's 50-day moving average is $116.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.87. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $105.20 and a one 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. The company has a market capitalization of $91.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.37.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. Duke Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. This is a boost from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.