Zhang Financial LLC Takes $213,000 Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Zhang Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Corundum Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,566,000. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $257,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 18,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,016,000 after buying an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $109.34 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $110.47 and a 200-day moving average of $112.05. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The company has a market capitalization of $84.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average 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.