King Wealth Management Group Increases Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

King Wealth Management Group raised its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 7.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the quarter. King Wealth Management Group’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.25.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $120.58 on Thursday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $117.09 and a 200-day moving average of $116.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 2.99 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) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. As a group, analysts predict 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. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.