Phillips Wealth Planners LLC Boosts Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 267 shares during the quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 332.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 100.0% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $108.86 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market cap of $84.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $110.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.19.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank upped 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays increased their target price 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. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently 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.