Winch Advisory Services LLC Purchases 243 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 332.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 243 shares during the quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $34,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after acquiring an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 155.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 13,829.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,782,000 after buying an additional 1,117,526 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $106.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $110.73 and a 200-day moving average of $111.87. The company has a market cap of $82.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

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.