Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 32.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 597,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 146,089 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $64,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $781,500,000 after buying an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,832,000 after buying an additional 1,138,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 13,829.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,782,000 after buying an additional 1,117,526 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $113.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $87.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $109.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.93. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. On average, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.08.

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.