Southland Equity Partners LLC Boosts Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Southland Equity Partners LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,167 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Southland Equity Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DUK. Bcwm LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $9,815,000. Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,852,000 after acquiring an additional 7,319 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $384,000. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $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

A number of brokerages recently commented on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. 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. Barclays upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.81.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $116.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $118.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.95. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.21 and a fifty-two week high of $125.27. The company has a market cap of $90.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 2.79 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 69.32%.

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.