Weaver Capital Management LLC Sells 143 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Weaver Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 143 shares during the period. Weaver Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. World Equity Group Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 18.0% during the first quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 3,821 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,872,000. PFG Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% in the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 31,409 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,831,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% in the first quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 49,941 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,091,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Resource Council bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $354,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 price target (up previously from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.75.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $115.42 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $117.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.77. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $99.21 and a 52 week high of $125.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.71 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. 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.