Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Stock Position Lifted by AlphaStar Capital Management LLC

AlphaStar Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,808 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,861 shares during the quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,221,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bcwm LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $9,815,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,852,000 after buying an additional 7,319 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 212.8% during the fourth quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 79,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,618,000 after buying an additional 54,413 shares in the last quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 338.6% during the first quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 37,763 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,606,000 after purchasing an additional 29,153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 7.7% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 291,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,575,000 after purchasing an additional 20,942 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.88.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $116.43 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $100.03 and a 1-year high of $125.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $117.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The company has a market cap of $90.49 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued 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. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio 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.