Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Purchased by Engineers Gate Manager LP

Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 125.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 40,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,578 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,825,000 after purchasing an additional 3,797 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,686,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 523.4% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 42,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,983,000 after buying an additional 35,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter worth $954,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $139.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:DUK opened at $119.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $123.98 and a 200-day moving average of $126.22. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $113.89 and a 52 week high of $134.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.13. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 15.78%.The business had revenue of $7.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $1.085 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.17%.

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corporation is an electric and natural gas utility holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, with a generation portfolio that includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources. It also operates natural gas distribution businesses and provides related energy services.

Duke Energy’s regulated electric utilities serve residential, commercial and industrial customers across the Carolinas, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.