Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. Reduces Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Key Points

• Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. reduced its stake in Duke Energy by 13.6%, selling 2,214 shares during the first quarter, with remaining holdings valued at $1.72 million.
• Duke Energy's quarterly earnings report showed $1.76 EPS, beating estimates by $0.17, and its revenue increased by 7.5% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, reflecting an increase from the previous dividend and a 3.5% dividend yield.

Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. lessened its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 13.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,214 shares during the quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 14,268.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,663,183 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $202,858,000 after buying an additional 1,651,608 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $163,819,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $521,322,000 after purchasing an additional 625,008 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,027,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $218,454,000 after purchasing an additional 585,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 499,652 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $1.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $122.97. 4,495,848 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,576,647. The firm has a market cap of $95.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.39, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.36. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $105.20 and a twelve month high of $125.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. Duke Energy's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.065 dividend. This is a boost from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is currently 69.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DUK. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 price objective (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.