Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 2,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. PBMares Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

DUK opened at $112.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market cap of $86.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.64, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.44.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on 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 MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

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.