Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC Acquires 1,436 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,436 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,516,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 3,094 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $208,000. Secure Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $236,000. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 43,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,666,000 after buying an additional 3,250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE DUK opened at $109.86 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.15. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 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 firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid 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 3.80%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DUK. Barclays increased their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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 increased their target price 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. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 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.