Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 709,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,269 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $76,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. United Bank boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.7% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in Duke Energy by 9.0% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 58,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,750,000 after buying an additional 4,847 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $2,825,000. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 6.8% in the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 9.4% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,914,000 after buying an additional 1,432 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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, Scotiabank increased their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.93.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $120.29 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $112.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.46. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $92.75 and a one year high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $93.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

Duke Energy Company 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.