Plan Group Financial LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Key Points

• Plan Group Financial LLC has increased its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation by 44.6%, owning 13,167 shares worth approximately $1.6 million as of the end of the recent quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Nuveen Asset Management LLC, have also significantly increased their stakes in Duke Energy, indicating a strong interest in the utilities provider.
• Duke Energy's recent quarterly earnings report showed a higher-than-expected earnings per share of $1.76, along with a 7.5% year-over-year revenue increase, and the company has announced a new quarterly dividend yielding 3.4%.

Plan Group Financial LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 44.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,167 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 4,063 shares during the period. Plan Group Financial LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 212.8% during the fourth quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 79,989 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,618,000 after buying an additional 54,413 shares in the last quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 338.6% in the first quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 37,763 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,606,000 after purchasing an additional 29,153 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 7.7% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 291,667 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,575,000 after acquiring an additional 20,942 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its position in Duke Energy by 9.9% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 127,419 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,451,000 after acquiring an additional 11,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 8.1% during the first quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 51,354 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,264,000 after acquiring an additional 3,837 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $128.31.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded up $0.61 on Thursday, hitting $125.82. 2,831,941 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,175,662. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $118.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap of $97.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.36. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $105.20 and a 12-month high of $127.85.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%. Duke Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.97%.

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.