Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Position Increased by Cadinha & Co. LLC

Cadinha & Co. LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 28.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 928 shares during the period. Cadinha & Co. LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,705 shares during the last quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,888,000. CCM Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,008,000 after buying an additional 16,356 shares in the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,032,000. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 59.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 23,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,697,000 after acquiring an additional 8,699 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $109.34 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $110.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.88. The company has a market cap of $84.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank upped their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

About Duke Energy

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.