First Dallas Securities Inc. Grows Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

First Dallas Securities Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 6,719,398 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,138,979 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 1,117,526 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DUK. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price target 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. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut 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 note on Friday, November 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.08.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $113.21 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 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 net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. 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.