Verum Partners LLC Boosts Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Verum Partners LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Verum Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on DUK. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.81.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $115.22 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $99.21 and a one year high of $125.27. The company 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.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 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 analysts’ expectations of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.