Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 0.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 184,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 242 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $22,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Grandview Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Grandview Asset Management LLC now owns 14,135 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alhambra Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 2,268 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup increased their target price on 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 target on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 price target (up from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.75.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:DUK opened at $115.42 on Monday. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $99.21 and a twelve month high of $125.27. The company has a market cap of $89.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its 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. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.