Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 29,645 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Duke Energy by 36.4%, holding 51,689 shares valued at $6,305,000 after selling 29,645 shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed views on Duke Energy, with target prices ranging from $122.00 to $142.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Duke Energy announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.065 per share, providing a yield of 3.55%, with a payout ratio of 69.32%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 36.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,689 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 29,645 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 14,268.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,663,183 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $202,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,608 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $163,819,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $521,322,000 after purchasing an additional 625,008 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,027,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $218,454,000 after purchasing an additional 585,600 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,001,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $862,036,000 after purchasing an additional 499,652 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded down $2.25 on Monday, hitting $117.68. 2,930,107 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,430,259. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $105.20 and a 12 month high of $125.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $116.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released 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 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 the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. 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 (DPR) is 69.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DUK. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 price objective (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $127.25.

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.