Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Has $5.35 Million Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. cut its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 6.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,818 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,820 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $282,000. Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 2,774 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 6,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $674,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Midland Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Midland Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $126.88.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE DUK traded down $0.77 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $117.40. 2,098,870 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,478,019. The company's 50-day moving average is $116.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.74. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $104.02 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 $91.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 3.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is presently 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.