Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Stake Raised by Tradewinds LLC.

Tradewinds LLC. increased its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the quarter. Tradewinds LLC.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Up 2.2 %

DUK stock opened at $122.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50-day moving average of $115.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.73. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $92.75 and a 52-week high of $122.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.87.

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.