Bank of New Hampshire Has $611,000 Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Bank of New Hampshire decreased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 18.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,397 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 46.6% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 368 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $99.84 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $104.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $100.83 and a 200-day moving average of $97.21.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total value of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Duke Energy news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the transaction, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective 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 raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.75.

Duke Energy 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.