Moors & Cabot Inc. Acquires 1,808 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 51,252 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,808 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,522,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Miller Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $324,000. Cornerstone Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 36,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,954,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 10,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,120,000 after acquiring an additional 1,896 shares during the period. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $274,000. Finally, Davis R M Inc. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 971 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $117.76 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $91.43 billion, a PE ratio of 20.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $92.75 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.34.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 yield of 3.55%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target 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. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.93.

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.