Sky Investment Group LLC Acquires 1,992 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sky Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,356 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,992 shares during the period. Sky Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 15,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,958 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 17.4% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 40,171 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,026,000 after buying an additional 5,957 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 39.6% during the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 7,606 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 2,156 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 10.0% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 112,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,231,000 after buying an additional 10,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 160,042.9% in the 2nd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 11,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,124,000 after acquiring an additional 11,203 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:DUK opened at $109.34 on Tuesday. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $110.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.05.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy 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.