Crowley Wealth Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 9,715 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 9,715 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,047,000. Duke Energy comprises about 0.9% of Crowley Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.0 %

DUK opened at $119.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market cap of $92.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $92.75 and a 12 month high of $121.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $114.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.67.

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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Scotiabank raised their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.87.

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.