Waverly Advisors LLC Acquires 16,763 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,763 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $16,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Basso Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 1,111.1% during the fourth quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management boosted its position in Duke Energy by 68.6% during the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $121.32 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $113.89 and a fifty-two week high of $134.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.36.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.66 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.78% and a return on equity of 9.78%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.085 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 65.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on DUK shares. Mizuho set a $136.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, KeyCorp raised Duke Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $139.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.94.

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.