Facet Wealth Inc. Buys Shares of 1,771 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Facet Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank upped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.93.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:DUK opened at $120.29 on Monday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $92.75 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The stock has a market cap of $93.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a fifty day moving average of $112.86 and a 200-day moving average of $113.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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

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.