V Square Quantitative Management LLC Raises Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 90.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,150 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho raised their target price on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI upgraded Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.85.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK traded down $0.94 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $103.44. 3,023,075 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,017,859. The stock has a market cap of $79.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $104.60.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.025 per share. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.02%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4 shares in the company, valued at approximately $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at $45,190,031.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.