Taylor Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Key Points

• Taylor Financial Group Inc. made a new investment of $246,000 in Duke Energy by purchasing 2,019 shares in the first quarter, reflecting increased institutional interest in the company.
• Duke Energy recently reported a decrease in EPS to $1.25, missing analysis estimates of $1.29, although the company's revenue rose to $7.51 billion, surpassing expectations.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $1.05 to $1.065 per share, indicating a commitment to shareholder returns.

Taylor Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,019 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,094,327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676,061 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $202,858,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651,608 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in 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 valued at $521,322,000 after buying an additional 625,008 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP grew its position in Duke Energy by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,027,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $218,454,000 after buying an additional 585,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Duke Energy by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,001,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $862,036,000 after buying an additional 499,652 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $129.20.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $125.58. 2,244,495 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,240,884. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $105.20 and a twelve month high of $127.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.36.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders 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 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. 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.