Allstate Corp Takes $2.49 Million Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Allstate Corp bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 23,078 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,486,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 366.7% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in 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 topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $119.42 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $115.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $92.75 and a 1-year high of $121.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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