Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Increases Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $339,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PBMares Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.4% in the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.5% in the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.6% in the third quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,843,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.0% in the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on DUK shares. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of 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, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.62.

Duke Energy Stock Up 2.1 %

DUK opened at $115.58 on Monday. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $110.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.00. The company has a market cap of $89.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.20%.

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.