Harbour Investments Inc. Raises Stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK – Free Report) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the quarter. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Diametric Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $313,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 7,718 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $832,000 after buying an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 121.6% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 19,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,124,000 after buying an additional 10,816 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 price objective (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.25.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Duke Energy

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $121.71 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.81. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $105.20 and a 12-month high of $125.27. The firm has a market cap of $94.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.65%.

About Duke Energy

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading