Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by apricus wealth LLC

apricus wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 20,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the quarter. apricus wealth LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bcwm LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $9,815,000. Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,852,000 after purchasing an additional 7,319 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $384,000. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 76,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,240,000 after purchasing an additional 20,414 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on DUK. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 price objective (up previously from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.81.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $116.27 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $118.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The company has a market cap of $90.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.37. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $99.21 and a 1 year high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) 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. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. 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.