Leelyn Smith LLC Makes New $221,000 Investment in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Leelyn Smith LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,852,731,000 after buying an additional 779,054 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,097,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,949,857,000 after purchasing an additional 124,863 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,930,833,000 after buying an additional 385,612 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,503,503 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $916,168,000 after buying an additional 357,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,001,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $862,036,000 after buying an additional 499,652 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.7%

DUK opened at $117.40 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $91.25 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $104.02 and a twelve month high of $125.27. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $116.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.79. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 69.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on DUK. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.88.

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.