KBC Group NV Buys 4,131 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

KBC Group NV raised its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,131 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Apexium Financial LP boosted its position in Duke Energy by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 5,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 24,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,856,000 after purchasing an additional 3,908 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $227,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in Duke Energy by 54.8% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 4,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 1,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stablepoint Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 40,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,321,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank raised their target price 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. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $112.28 on Friday. 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 50 day simple moving average of $110.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The stock has a market cap of $86.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.64, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

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.