Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Purchased by First Horizon Advisors Inc.

First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 216,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,612 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $25,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,094,327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676,061 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 17,880.0% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,250,133,000 after purchasing an additional 10,192,503 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,921,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,088,158,000 after purchasing an additional 418,014 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,656,244 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,055,087,000 after purchasing an additional 93,699 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.9% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,153,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $994,496,000 after purchasing an additional 152,542 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on DUK shares. Mizuho raised their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Barclays raised their target price on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Duke Energy from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:DUK opened at $123.79 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $96.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $130.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.77.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 69.27%.

Duke Energy Company 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.