Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Cuts Stake in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. decreased its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,135 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,094,327,000 after buying an additional 1,676,061 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 1.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,684,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,205,070,000 after acquiring an additional 319,001 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 17,880.0% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,250,133,000 after acquiring an additional 10,192,503 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the 1st 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $138.00 to $136.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Cowen began coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction of $248,760.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $122.74 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $95.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $124.17 and a 200-day moving average of $120.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $105.20 and a 1-year high of $130.03.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The firm had revenue of $8.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

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.