Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC Increases Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in Duke Energy by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,378,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.93.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $120.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $93.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $92.75 and a fifty-two week high of $121.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $113.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. 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.