Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,852,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,016,846,000 after buying an additional 442,302 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $922,529,000 after acquiring an additional 135,665 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,368,000 after acquiring an additional 561,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,537,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of DUK opened at $117.67 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $114.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.71. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $92.75 and a twelve month high of $121.47. 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 capitalization of $91.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

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, beating 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 73.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.