Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 15.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,844 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,826 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at $580,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,957,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 32.0% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 24,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,469,000 after buying an additional 5,977 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bruce & Co. Inc. now owns 205,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,629,000 after buying an additional 1,926 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $106.29 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.83. The firm has a market cap of $82.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted 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 net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on DUK shares. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Company 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.