Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by Mystic Asset Management Inc.

Mystic Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,169 shares during the quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. United Bank increased its stake in Duke Energy by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 9.4% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,432 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,678,000. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 302.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 36,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,205,000 after purchasing an additional 27,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DUK. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Scotiabank boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.93.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE DUK opened at $120.88 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $113.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.52. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $92.75 and a 12 month high of $121.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

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.