Hennessy Advisors Inc. Grows Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 117,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $12,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 100.0% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $109.05 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25. The company has a market capitalization of $84.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

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.