Willis Investment Counsel Acquires 20,802 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Willis Investment Counsel lifted its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 18.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 132,232 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,802 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $16,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 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 several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $125.81.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $116.75. The stock had a trading volume of 2,789,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,458,523. The firm's fifty day moving average is $118.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.91. The company has a market capitalization of $90.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.37. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $99.21 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

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 (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is 69.32%.

Duke Energy 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.