Nvwm LLC Grows Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Nvwm LLC raised its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the quarter. Nvwm LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Money Concepts Capital Corp increased its position in Duke Energy by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 48,406 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,215,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 68,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,461,000 after buying an additional 18,604 shares in the last quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 39,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,238,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 13,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,466,000 after acquiring an additional 1,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $618,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.7 %

DUK opened at $112.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $109.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.65.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.