Persium Advisors LLC Invests $637,000 in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Persium Advisors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 5,914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $637,000. Duke Energy makes up about 0.6% of Persium Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westover Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 3.7% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $580,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 1.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,672,000 after purchasing an additional 40,243 shares during the period. Finally, Williams Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $593,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective 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. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $106.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,334,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,845,230. The company has a 50 day moving average of $111.00 and a 200 day moving average of $111.79. The stock has a market cap of $82.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month 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 (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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

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.