CapWealth Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

CapWealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 188,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,903 shares during the period. Duke Energy makes up about 2.2% of CapWealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. CapWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $20,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after purchasing an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138,979 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 13,829.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,526 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, 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. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Stock Down 2.0 %

DUK opened at $111.69 on Friday. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $86.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $109.86 and its 200 day moving average is $112.94.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 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.