Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Boosts Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 94,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 636 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $10,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $38,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $116.03 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $110.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.10. The firm has a market cap of $89.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business 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 $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.20%.

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.