Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. Increases Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 29.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,971 shares during the quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. PBMares Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 1.4% during the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $760,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 3.5% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DUK. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.08.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $115.01 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The stock has a market cap of $88.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $109.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.72.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Duke Energy Company Profile

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.