L & S Advisors Inc Grows Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

L & S Advisors Inc raised its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 67.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,617 shares during the quarter. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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 research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of DUK stock opened at $119.42 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $92.75 and a fifty-two week high of $121.47. 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 quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.70.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. 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.