Hager Investment Management Services LLC Purchases New Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $192,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Czech National Bank raised its position in Duke Energy by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 157,244 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,130,000 after purchasing an additional 10,177 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,857 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 2,605 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.2% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 7,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $822,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Everpar Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $217,000. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.2% during the third quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 2,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $112.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $86.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $110.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.61.

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 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 analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank raised 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. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy 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.