CX Institutional Raises Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

CX Institutional lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 70.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,440 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 332.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $109.86 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $84.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $110.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.21. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Duke Energy 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.