Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Increases Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 485.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,957 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of DUK stock opened at $111.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $86.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.53, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.01.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. 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.