Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Purchased by Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC

Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 947 shares during the quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Bcwm LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,815,000. Bailard Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,852,000 after buying an additional 7,319 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $384,000. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 76,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,240,000 after buying an additional 20,414 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased 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. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 price objective (up previously from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.81.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $116.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $118.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.92. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $99.21 and a 12 month high of $125.27. The company has a market capitalization of $90.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36, 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 (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion for 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%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.