Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Stock Holdings Boosted by Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC

Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,095 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 6,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the period. Triangle Securities Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management now owns 30,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,296,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 68,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,404,000 after acquiring an additional 2,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CGN Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 24,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,633,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank increased 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on 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 lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of DUK stock opened at $109.34 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $84.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $110.47 and a 200-day moving average of $111.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted 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). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

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.