Souders Financial Advisors Grows Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Souders Financial Advisors boosted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 19.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,005 shares during the period. Souders Financial Advisors’ holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.0% during the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 19,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,191,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 222,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,799,000 after buying an additional 12,780 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 161,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,629,000 after buying an additional 14,166 shares during the period. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.1% in the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,711,000 after buying an additional 4,930 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on DUK. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $116.46 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $89.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $92.33 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $111.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.19.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.