Biondo Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Biondo Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,741 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy accounts for 1.3% of Biondo Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $9,492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 1,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $119.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $92.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.72. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $92.75 and a 1 year high of $121.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 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.