Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Boosts Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 65,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pflug Koory LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 2,726 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Triangle Securities Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management now owns 28,275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,735,000 after buying an additional 1,262 shares during the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 55,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,374,000 after buying an additional 1,039 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 9,311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $906,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,381,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.75.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $99.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $104.87. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.24. The stock has a market cap of $77.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a $1.025 dividend. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value 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 approximately $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.