Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by First City Capital Management Inc.

First City Capital Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,853 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 283 shares during the quarter. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,378,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC now owns 2,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 target price (up from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.81.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK opened at $115.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $89.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.37. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $99.21 and a 1 year high of $125.27. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.90.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.32%.

About Duke Energy

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.