National Pension Service Grows Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

National Pension Service grew its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,866,763 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 86,378 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $201,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advisor OS LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 13,017 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after buying an additional 1,299 shares during the period. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Delta Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,004 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 136.1% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 271,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,285,000 after purchasing an additional 156,705 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan David Investments LLC IL grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 410,829 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,263,000 after purchasing an additional 2,392 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.2 %

DUK opened at $117.29 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $110.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.06. The firm has a market cap of $90.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on DUK. Scotiabank raised 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.62.

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.