HB Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,784 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $7,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 48,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,870,000 after acquiring an additional 3,713 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 8.6% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 35,368 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,545,000 after purchasing an additional 2,814 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,351,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $135,464,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 132.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,655 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $567,000 after buying an additional 3,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position in Duke Energy by 14.8% during 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 buying an additional 1,958 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho raised 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. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $109.34 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $84.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $110.47 and a 200 day moving average of $111.88. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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

Duke Energy 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.