Baker Boyer National Bank Has $343,000 Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Baker Boyer National Bank boosted its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Orca Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,350,000. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 8,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $953,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,042 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,422,000 after purchasing an additional 2,491 shares in the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 1,938 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,073,000 after acquiring an additional 2,237 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on DUK shares. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $111.42 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $110.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.48, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm 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 company earned $1.94 earnings per share. Duke Energy’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 5.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors 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 3.75%. 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.